Hidden Identity
by Priest Li Xiang
Summary: [Book 3] Identity-verse; Friend or foe? Ken and Oz's shared past comes back to haunt them.


I neither own Ranma Nibunnoichi, Weiss Kreuz, Sailormoon, or Buffy   
the Vampire Slayer. If you want to use Saotome Yuki in any of your   
fics, please direct all permission asking towards Mei Neko, her   
creator, at mangartist_2001@yahoo.com. If homosexual relationships   
offend you, don't bother reading this. There's a couple homosexual,   
and a couple heterosexual, pairings that show up.   
  
This won't make sense unless you've read the two previous books,   
False Identity and True Identity. I really mean this, people.   
Otherwise, how will you understand the SchuuKen subplot, the fact   
that Aya-kun and Farfello are violently opposed to one another, and  
yet still manage to live together? Or, how about who the hell Yuki  
is. *nodnodnod* Therefore, you can find Books One and Two at:  
  
http://ladycosmos.anifics.com  
http://tannim.anifics.com  
http://li_xiang.anifics.com  
http://nighthawk.anifics.com  
http://archives.anifics.com  
http://www.reikaifiles.com  
  
Oh, and settle in for a long read. Prior to formating and authors   
notes, this was forty pages long. It's short for a whole Book for  
the Identity Series, but this whole Book is more or less filler,  
used as a plot-device so I can muck around with a new set of   
serious problems in Book 4.   
  
Anyway... on to Book 3!  
  
  
  
Hidden Identity  
Prologue : Going  
Li Xiang   
  
  
  
  
"You're going to _what_?!" the wiccan half shrieked, "You can't   
Alexander Lavelle Harris we need your help _here_! You can't just-  
just-just run off on us!"   
  
Alexander, more often known simply as Xander, winced. This was why   
he had hoped to be able to sneak out-- Willow could shriek when she   
really wanted to. He resisted the urge to use his pinky finger to   
pop his eardrums. He was a bit surprised at the sympathetic look   
that Oz was sending him, up until he realized that it was only two   
days until the full moon.  
  
The poor wolf's senses had probably increased even further than   
their normal abnormally high sensitivity. Which meant that it   
probably hurt him a whole lot more, since he was standing right   
next to her as he listened to her caterwauling.   
  
But Xander would _not_ be deterred! He felt he had to do this, had   
to get away... Buffy was just his excuse. It was just his excuse   
that he was going to find the missing Slayer. There was   
something... more, for him out there. He just knew it.   
  
He wanted to be more than just the donut boy.   
  
So he had packed up, shoved everything that mattered into a bag or   
two, and was ready to ship out. The only thing currently tying him   
to Sunnydale, California, was Willow Rosenberg-- and he had   
recently heard some _very_ disturbing rumors about her. He didn't   
know what to think, so he just wanted to get away for a bit and   
clear his head.  
  
"You can't stop me from going," Xander tried to make her   
understand-- but the only thing the redhead understood was that her   
best friend since childhood was leaving without her.  
  
"She... she'll come back!" Willow tried, desperately clutching at   
his arm. Fairly annoyed, Alexander pried her fingers off the said   
arm.  
  
"So will I, Wills. Just... let me get some space for awhile,   
okay?"   
  
---  
  
Xander blinked owlishly at what was in his hands, "You're kidding   
me."  
  
"No joke," the man grunted in badly broken English, "Give ticket to   
Nihon-- to Japan, for food." and he pointed to the cooler the   
teenager had been hauling back to his make-shift camp.   
  
Xander was still freaked over the fact that he could move through   
walls and the ground. And it was all because that freakishly old   
building he had been checking out-- a misguided need to help people   
he assumed, related to his experiences back in on the Hellmouth.  
  
There were rumors that there were ghosts or vampires or something   
in there, and as one of the Scoobies, even if he was one on   
vacation, he'd felt it was his duty to check it out and see if he   
could solve the problem.   
  
The building had quite abruptly collapsed while he was within it.   
He had nearly died... and he still wasn't sure if he hadn't.   
Although, if he _was_ a ghost, then he was pretty visible _and_   
still had to eat.   
  
Which was what he needed to think about, here. Give up his food, or   
a chance to go to Japan. The twelve year old alongside the   
overweight moron looked far to thin for it to be healthy... and his   
eyes.. glazed over and blank. The kid wasn't fidgeting or looking   
around because of boredom. He was just... standing there. It was   
pretty freaky, and the teen had to wonder if he was a zombie.  
  
Once again, Xander's oh-so-compassionate nature overtook him. He   
couldn't turn a kid in need away. He tucked the ticket into his   
pocket and jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "Knock yourself out.   
The kid needs to eat."  
  
The teen didn't even get a 'thank you', before the man dragged his   
son over to the cooler. Shrugging away the ingratitude, Alexander   
headed back to his car. He'd always heard strange things happened   
in Japan. His phase-ability shouldn't stick out _too_ much over   
there, right?  
  
Right.  
  
Besides, this felt like something he needed to do-- just like   
leaving Sunnydale had. He had always trusted his gut, it had yet to   
kill him.  
  
---  
  
End Prologue  
  
---  
Chapter One : Willow  
  
  
  
"For Christ's sake! That isn't funny, Yuki!" Ken yelped, watching   
as the knife phase through him without a mark. Ever since the   
psychopathic woman had learned of his abilities, he had found   
himself forced to only keep his hands and feet solid. It was good   
practice, but really, really, really annoying, as she loved to   
throw sharp things at him, just because she could. After all, his   
abilities meant she could do it over and over and over again   
without causing any harm. She thought of it as good target   
practice.  
  
"Sure it is," mused the woman as she helped to prepare yet another   
Western-style breakfast for the other members of the House. It had   
become common place for Ken and Yuki to get up and make breakfast.   
Sometimes, Oz would help. Sometimes, Ranma's stomach would hinder.   
Then there were the times when the other members of the House felt   
domestic, and kicked the two nineteen-almost-twenty year olds out   
of the kitchen.  
  
"Look, can you lay off on attacking me?" Siberian growled, stirring   
the batter for their breakfast of freshly baked muffins, "I'd like   
to be solid sometime soon."  
  
Yuki just grinned her favorite grin-- the one that made her look   
_way_ to much like Farfello for his comfort-- and began humming the   
tune to Hundred Million. The band had been playing the night prior,   
which meant half the House had gone to watch them. The other half   
had been too busy with their side-jobs. As in, the jobs they did   
when they weren't assassins.  
  
The relative peace of the House was soon shattered, however, when a   
focal point of a transportation spell opened a couple feet off the   
ground, in the main room. Ken couldn't feel it, but there were   
three people in the House that could, and one of the them had just   
tensed, then forcefully relaxed, then bolted out of the kitchen,   
flying out in time to see the warp expand to full size.  
  
Yuki knew full well that Nabiki preferred the more stable way of   
transportation that was using Gate Spells on walls or doors or   
other handing objects-- like curtains for instance. She also knew   
that this was _not_ the other Sorceress, as the mana signature was   
wrong. However... that is not to say that it was unfamiliar to her.   
  
She just couldn't place it...  
  
Ranma and Rache, both looking tired as hell blew into the room,   
even as another body flopped out of the portal, vibrant red hair   
fluttering around her face. The martial artist and the Sailor   
Senshi went immediately into battle stances, while the Sorceress   
and the Soccer Player froze in shock.  
  
The head lifted, and the unknown witch looked around, taking stock.   
A redhead wielding a wicked looking pole-arm, who looked about two   
seconds from lopping off her head. Another redhead who stood   
loosely, but who was literally crackling with power to her enhanced   
magical sight.  
  
The her eyes lit up when they landed on Ken, however, and one   
redheaded witch threw herself across the room and locked her arms   
around his neck, "Xander!"  
  
"Wi-wi-Willow?!"  
  
"Ro-sen-berg..."  
  
Willow froze, finally turning to the last member of the room's   
occupants, "Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-Yuki!" she stuttered nervously,   
swinging around; placing Ken between her and the psychopathic   
assassin.  
  
Another voice cut in, and it was hardly pleased, "Get off of him,   
girl," Schuldich growled, rising off the couch that he had slept on   
the night before. The telepath had crashed there after Xue Shi's   
performance, and just never bothered to move. And right that   
moment, despite being able to see within her mind, and knew she was   
already in a serious relationship, was rather jealous.  
  
Whenever _he_ tried to hug Ken, _he_ was pushed away.  
  
"Schuldich..." Ken groaned, wondering what he did to deserve having   
an obsessive telepath lusting after him. It was _really_ annoying.  
  
Yuki was showing remarkable restraint, merely growling and   
clenching her fists so tight that her knuckles were white, as she   
_glared_ at Rosenberg, "What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing. Here.   
Bitch?!"  
  
She was still cowering behind Hidaka, who was trying to pry her   
arms away from his neck. He paused to blink for a second, before   
turning his gaze on his one-time best friend, "Yeah Wills, why   
_are_ you here?" He didn't bother to ask 'how'. He had seen the   
warp, after all.  
  
She turned her attention back to Ken, speaking in English, "My   
Japanese isn't very good. I... didn't think you really were in   
Japan when I scried you last week."  
  
This time, Yuki really did lunge at Rosenberg, teeth bared in a   
full-on spit-flying snarl. Only Schuldich and Ranma blurring into   
action and halting her forward movement kept her from tearing   
Willow's head from her shoulders. The psychopathic Sorceress   
snapped out, "You're the one who scried them?! Do you even   
understand how to do a proper scrying?! For fuck's sake! You could   
have _killed_ someone!"  
  
"Hey, Yuki?" wondered the younger sibling, "Since when do _you_   
care about killing someone?"  
  
"When it's my friends," she growled, jerking against the iron grips   
of her currently female brother, and her telepathic friend, "This   
_twit_ cast a scrying that uses the life-force of the target to   
scry! She damn nearly killed Ghostie and the Wolf!"   
  
"What?!" Schuldich's grip loosened at the thought of almost losing   
his Kenken. Ranma's only tightened with anger as she growled. Oz   
was a close friend-- for Christ sakes, they understood each other   
better than most, seeing as both had a fairly violent feral side.   
Ranma just liked hers better, and lets it out more often.  
  
"You-you're lying!" Willow shouted, unnerved at the thought. She   
had been using that spell to scry on Glory, and nothing had   
happened to the Hell Goddess.  
  
"No," Yuki hissed, dark eyes narrowing into slits, as she yanked   
her arm free from the stunned German at her side, "I'm not. You're   
damn lucky I threw up a shielding spell before you could do more   
damage than causing fatigue. Gods above and below! You're no better   
now than five years ago!"  
  
"Five...?" Ken wondered, confused, "But... but Willow didn't start   
practicing until _after_ Miss Calender was killed! That was only   
_three_ years ago!" But his mind flashed back to the rumors that   
had been part of the reason he'd left Sunnydale in the first place.   
They had seemed so dark and terrible then... but given that he was   
an assassin now, that over shadowed a lot of what he'd heard.  
  
"Oh, she didn't tell you, did she?" the assassin code named Kitsune   
hissed, "During Junior High she joined a coven-- _my_ coven. Quick   
study, but absolutely abysmal at casting--"  
  
"You're stuck on yourself!" Willow snapped in English. While she   
could understand and read Japanese-- never know when it might come   
in handy during research parties-- she couldn't speak it very well.   
It had yet to occur to her to use a translation spell. And even if   
it had, she didn't have her grimores, in which she would have to   
_find_ the spell, in the first place, "You flaunted your gift then,   
and you still do now!"  
  
"I don't flaunt," Yuki returned icily, in Japanese, just so Ranma   
and Rache could understand her words, "You came to _me_ for help, I   
didn't jump in on every damned spell you cast-- unlike _some_   
people. It's hardly _my_ fault you and the other six attacked me   
without doing a little... research first, now is it?"  
  
"You attacked _Yuki_?!" Ken gapped, "Wills, you're smarter than   
that! She could have killed you!"  
  
"She almost did."  
  
"I killed everyone, expect, apparently, Rosenberg," Yuki's lip   
curled with distaste, and she held out her free hand, "And I plan   
to remedy that-- Firaga!"  
  
"Silence Wall."  
  
Willow jumped as the high powered fire spell was absorbed by a   
shifting shield of black energy, "I want to know _why_ she is here   
_before_ you roast her, Kitsune," the redhead with the pole-arm   
told the Sorceress perfectly calmly.  
  
"Who's going to roast who?" wondered a yawning voice, and a blurry-  
eyed Fujimiya Aya-chan stumbled in, "And what's with all the   
racket? 'm tryin' ta sleep..."   
  
Yuki was suddenly calm, and smiling at the sixteen year old,   
"Nothing to worry your pretty head over, Aya," she shot a look at   
the others, wriggling free of Ranma-onna's grasp, and draping an   
arm over the younger Fujimiya's shoulders, "Now, why don't we   
finish making breakfast, hmmm? Kenken seems a bit... occupied, ne?"  
  
Then the Sorceress was gone, leaving Willow with Ken, Schuldich,   
Ranma and Rache. Ranma shared a look with Ken-- who, aside from   
Ranma, Aya-chan and Jei, was the only other person who spent a   
large amount of time around Yuki-- and nodded. Both had interpreted   
Yuki's parting look to have said 'You are _damn_ well going to tell   
me what she wants, understood?'  
  
You never answered me," Ken hedged in English, "Why did you come to   
Japan?"   
  
"We need help."  
  
"'We'?"  
  
Willow shuffled a bit, "Buffy, Giles, Anya, Tara, Spike and I,   
We're trying to defeat--"  
  
"Wait, wait, wait. Spike? The vampire with an attitude?" Ken was   
utterly confused-- wasn't Spike one of the bad guys? Willow's lips   
quirked.  
  
"A lot has changed, Xander. When we're finished with Glory, I'll   
catch you up. You _will_ be staying in Sunnydale, right?"  
  
"Wrong," Ken frowned, "There's still some things to take care of   
here, in Japan. The Soccer Club for one thing; who's going to   
replace me as coach?-- Then there's my job-- pick up and leave   
after everything I've done to get here?-- Not to mention the   
friends I've made here."  
  
"But you promised to come back!" whined the witch.  
  
"Yeah, maybe to visit, not to live. Gods Wills! I've built a life   
here! I _can't_ leave!"   
  
"I... I understand..."  
  
/Careful liebe,/ whispered Schuldich, into his obsession's mind,   
/she's not going to give up that easily./  
  
/I know.../ Ken sighed, partially sulkily. He meant what he had   
said: he didn't want to leave his friends, his family, hell Japan.   
He _liked_ it here.  
  
/Aww, I always knew you cared!/  
  
He twitched, annoyed. Okay, maybe leaving Schuldich behind would be   
nice-- but he'd miss everything else. He studiously ignored the   
voice that said he would miss the telepath. Schuldich was an   
_unwanted_ presence in his life. He shook that away, turning back   
to Willow.  
  
"Sooo.... who's Glory?"  
  
---  
  
End Chapter  
  
---  
Chapter Two : Decision  
  
  
  
While breakfast was a tense affair, Willow was surprised by the   
number of people who crawled out of bed to eat. Hell, six people   
had shown up-- they had walked in through a wall-- and the head of   
the group, a brunette, had merely stated she felt the redhead   
witch's arrival, and came to investigate.  
  
Eying the nineteen men and women around the table, she found   
herself amused by their interactions. On her left was Xander, who   
was trying to force Schuldich to stop trying to feel him up. Beside   
the German was his sister, who was snuggling up to a long haired   
man with a scar just above one eye. It looked like it had just   
narrowly missed blinding him.  
  
Beside him was a man with an eyepatch who was glaring, over the   
head of the redheaded girl who was in his lap, at the violet eyed   
man beside him. Said man would occasionally shoot the pale haired   
man a nasty glare, but was more occupied with trying to rip his own   
sister's attention from Yuki.  
  
Beside Yuki was a pair of long haired men, who happened to be   
arguing quite loudly, while the said assassin passed them utensils   
to beat on each other with.  
  
And to their left, was another youth, probably seventeen, who was   
dotting on the smug brunette beside him. To her experienced eyes,   
they were in love. Again, on their left, a teen with lavender hair   
in a page-boy cut was flashing hand signals at the blonde beside   
her, who relayed the message to the long haired man beside him.   
  
Then there was the American man with glasses, who kept glaring at   
her for some reason, and finally it came down to the boy with the   
laptop on her right.  
  
She was startled when they all fell silent together, turning to   
face her, curiosity obvious in their faces.  
  
"Er... yes?" she questioned a bit hesitantly.  
  
"Why the hell do you need Kenken and the Wolf's help?" Ranma-onna   
growled, eyeing the other distrustfully. Yuki's previous experience   
with the wiccan aside, Willow's attempt at scrying almost killed   
her friends. Ranma was _very_ protective of her pride-mates.  
  
"Yes, why?" mused the brunette that had been introduced as Tendou   
Nabiki, "Why did you use an unstable warp to transport yourself   
across the ocean?"  
  
"My Japanese isn't the greatest," Willow muttered in English. Both   
Nabiki and Yuki laughed. The witch looked up in surprise, only to   
meet the amused grins around the table.  
  
"Translation spell," sneered Yuki, and Nabiki's lips quirked.  
  
"Honestly, what kind of spellcaster are you?"   
  
She flushed in part in embarrassment, and part in anger, and opened   
her mouth to respond hotly, but Crawford cut her off. He had been   
the only one who had _not_ been amused with her plight. Dark eyes   
_glared_ from behind his glasses, "Know now, that should we agree   
to go with you... _all_ of us must go."  
  
The seriousness of his voice brought all attention to him. Ranma   
frowned, "Something you saw?"  
  
The cold look the redhead got in return caused her to flush. Right,   
telling people Crawford was a seer-- not to mention the Guardian of   
Time-- was a dumbass move. Hopefully, Willow wouldn't realize the   
implications behind the sentence.  
  
Being someone used to a Slayer's visions, Willow _didn't_ figure it   
out. She just assumed it was something similar.  
  
"Uh... right..." the wiccan paused to catch her train of thought   
again, "Well... we don't have enough strength to beat Glory. One   
minute we're dealing with something more our level, the next we   
have to deal with something _way_ out of our league."  
  
The group understood almost immediately; the last Time Guardian had   
to have been manipulating something to keep the wiccan and the   
Slayer-- as well as their friends-- alive, and slowly growing in   
strength. Yuki figured that Pluto _must_ have had a hand in   
Willow's survival.  
  
She had made sure to injure the girl enough to die within ten   
minutes of her leaving, just like she had all the other girls in   
the coven. The fact that Willow survived at all suggested outside   
interference.  
  
/Do we help?/ Schuldich's mental voice reached everyone but Willow,   
creating a temporary loop so they could hear one another and   
discuss the topic.  
  
/Well, we _did_ agree to take on the task of 'saving the world'   
when we killed off the Senshi./ Nagi pointed out, briefly turning   
away from Ragnarok Online to do so. Then he was involved in his   
game once again, ignoring reality.  
  
/We could use the chance to humiliate this wanna-be-Sorceress,/   
Nabiki put it with a mental sniff. Omi and Xian nodded their head   
in agreement. It was a lovely idea-- _and_ they could torment Ranma   
some more. It had become a past time of theirs, as Nabiki built up   
her power, so she could properly destroy the martial arts without   
fear of him even possibly being able to fight back.  
  
/_And_,/ purred Yuki, /I could use this chance to... tie up some   
loose ends./ In other words, everyone translated, she wanted to   
kill a few people in America. Jei agreed to this idea-- it was   
amazing how similar the pair were.  
  
/I don't want to go,/ grumped Ken, /I don't want to leave Japan./  
  
/We have a gig in a few days,/ interjected a new voice, and the   
group blinked, a bit surprised. Oz had apparently finally woken up,   
and was standing in the door way, behind Willow. The redheaded   
wiccan didn't know he was there.   
  
/Yeah,/ Ranma agreed, once they'd explained the situation to the   
werewolf, /And what about the mission this weekend?/  
  
/I thought _you'd_ want to go,/ Ran frowned, /A new country to   
explore and wreak havoc on.../  
  
/I've already _been_ to the states,/ Ranma shot back, /but it   
sounds like you wanna go, Ayan./  
  
/We'll take a vote then,/ Schuldich threw in, /those who hand to   
go, lift a hand./   
  
Willow was rather confused when almost everyone lifted a hand for   
no reason. The ones who did _not_ want to go were Ken, Oz, Ranma,   
Schuldich, and surprisingly, Yuki. At the enquiring looks, the   
ebony-tressed young woman shrugged, "Just because there are loose   
ends to take care of, doesn't mean I _want_ to go. I'd have gone   
back and finished them off by now if I did."  
  
A wave of understanding washed over everyone but Willow-- who was   
still very confused-- and breakfast resumed with idle chatter only   
interrupted when Oz squeezed himself into a seat between Yuki and   
Zoicite. As Ken and Yuki hadn't prepared enough food for everyone,   
they'd hauled out and heated a few buns to munch on. Breakfast was   
soon over, despite having a good twenty people present, and the   
group were prepping for their journey.  
  
As only Willow knew their destination, Yuki and Nabiki had decided   
only to focus their power through the wiccan.  
  
Willow had gotten everyone-- including Fei Li and Nobuyuki, who had   
awoken at some point and decided to play video games on the PS2 in   
the main room-- to sit in the center of the room after moving the   
couches and tables to the walls. They had gravitated in to their   
usual groups, and were chatting about what they could do, once in   
America. Neither Nabiki nor Yuki paid much attention to the runes   
Willow was scrawling onto the floor with chalk.  
  
After all, if they ended up at the wrong destination, all it would   
take was a quick gate back to the House, a checking of the runes,   
and away they went.  
  
Just before completing the circle, Willow entered it, and then   
inscribed the last rune on the concrete floor of the warehouse.   
Carefully dodging around the groups of people, she brought herself   
to the exact center of the circle, and began to chant the spell.  
  
The two Sorceresses rolled their eyes at the theatrics. Both only   
ever used chants to boost their own strength, or in special   
ceremonies- the Knighting Ceremony, for example. They braced   
themselves as the pure energy of the magic flooded their senses,   
and the warp began to open.  
  
As one, the pair leapt to their feet, recognizing the unstable   
magic, and cursing vividly. Willow didn't noticed, as she was to   
involved in her spell.  
  
Rache's eyes flew open, Crawford's head snapped up, and Ranma gave   
a cat-like yowl as they, too, felt the drain. The unstable warp was   
drawing on their power to attempt to stabilize itself.  
  
The magic in Ranma's blood was not her own, and so it held no   
connection to her life force. The drain halted almost as soon as it   
had begun, and Kitty could breath once again.  
  
Blue eyes widened as she viewed their surroundings, a wild mixture   
of swirling red and blue dust, orange and green sparkling stars,   
and ebony space full of violet and gold shadows of... things. She   
didn't recognized the shapes.  
  
"What the..." Willow still stood in the center, eyes closed and   
chanting. Yuki's dark power was lashing about her, fighting against   
the silvery chains of Willow's unstable spell. Rache, Crawford and   
Nabiki-- who had no where near Yuki's experience with magic-- had   
collapsed, wrapped in the ethereal chains.  
  
Everyone else was unconscious. Confused, the martial artist looked   
around-- then shrieked with panic as people, as her Jei-sama, and   
her Ayan, began to fall away, vanishing into the sick   
bastardization of space.  
  
"No, no, nononononononononoNO!" Ranma howled desperately, snagging   
Schuldich as he began to slip past. She reached out to take hold of   
Nagi, but her fingers missed by millimeters.  
  
Arm looped around Schuldich, she tried, again and again, to catch   
the others, but to no avail. Even those in chains fell away, only   
Ranma, who was awake, Schuldich who she held, Yuki, who fought off   
the spell's wild power, the unconscious duo of Ken and Oz, and   
Willow herself remained.  
  
The strain was getting to the redhead, and just as the world flared   
around them, she collapsed, unconscious.  
  
---  
  
End Chapter  
  
---  
Chapter Three : Sunnydale  
  
  
  
When Ken dragged himself out of his unconsciousness, he had a   
sudden flash back to eight or nine months earlier, when Schuldich   
had kid napped him. He could hear arguing outside his door.  
  
"You fucking bint!" came Schuldich's enraged roar, "That was my   
_sister_ you lost!"  
  
"Look, I'm sorry," came Willow's plaintive voice, "I didn't know..   
the spell was--"   
  
"Don't give me that shit!" Schuldich barked, fury lacing his voice,   
"You know damn well you did that on purpose! Did you think Ken and   
the Wolf would _happily_ agree to help you if their friends were   
out of the picture, hmmm, hmmm? Oh, wait, you were hoping that if   
you could get Ken and Oz here without us, they'd stay _here_!"  
  
"You have no evidence that I--"  
  
Schuldich was laughing, and Ken dragged himself up and out of an   
unfamiliar bed, phasing through the door, to see what the fuss was   
all about. Schuldich and Willow were facing off, and the assassin   
growled, "I'm a telepath, _girl_. I don't need physical evidence to   
see inside your head!"  
  
Ranma was out cold, a worried Yuki hovering over the redhead, most   
likely scanning for injuries. Oz wasn't in the room, but if where   
_he_ woke up was any guess, then Oz was likely tucked into a bed as   
well.  
  
"Telepath?!" Willow screeched, "Telepath?! Then you've probably   
messed with his mind, and forcing him to stay away from us!"  
  
"If Schuldich was changing my thoughts," Ken drawled, annoyed that   
Willow was pointing fingers, instead of believing Ken _liked_ his   
life the way it was, "Then he'd have gotten me into his bed months   
ago."  
  
"W... what...?"  
  
Yuki didn't looked up from tending to her at-the-moment sister,   
"Schuldich fell for Kenken long before I met them. Ken's absolutely   
terrified of the thought of having kinky men-sex."  
  
"'Kinky men-sex'?" came a questioning growl from the youth beneath   
her hands, "is _that_ what you call it, oh sister of mine?"  
  
"Ranma!" she grinned, then smacked her upside the head, "Moron!   
What did you think you were _doing_?!"  
  
"Tryin' to prevent people from vanishing," she rubbed the top of   
her skull, "Oh, and ow."  
  
"Right," Ken turned to his former friend, "Back on topic."  
  
"Good. Glory is--"  
  
"I _meant_" he growled, "Where are my friends, Willow?"  
  
"I..." she was frightened of Xander... Xander had never acted like   
this before. Never acted like he'd hurt her at the first change.   
She clutched her head, and whispered, "I don't know."  
  
"You don't _know_?!" Ken shouted, infuriated, "You _don't_ know?!   
You just dumped everyone off without making sure they were alive?!"  
  
"I just cared about bringing _you_ home, Xander!" she tried to make   
him understand. He had never reacted like this, though. The Xander   
she remembered would have forgiven her, then moved on. She had   
quite the skewed image of her childhood friend.  
  
"Don't. Call. Me. _THAT_!" he bellowed, as the newly awoken Oz   
stumbled into the room, "Alexander Harris _died_ three years ago!   
My name is Ken. I am _not_ who you think I am!"  
  
"Neither of us are," Oz spoke quietly, "We've changed, you've   
changed. We aren't the same people, Willow."  
  
  
"No!"  
  
"She's not going to listen," Ranma grunted, pushing herself up, "I   
think it's time to go." She took a couple steps, before looking   
downwards, stunned, "No... no! I'm _still_ female!"  
  
"Maybe your ability to control the curse faded?" suggested Oz,   
watching nervously, somehow knowing, in the pit of his stomach,   
that _that_ was not the problem.   
  
That knowledge was confirmed when Yuki summoned a mug of hot water,   
and dumped it over Ranma's head. The Sorceress' eyes widened as she   
caught the play of magic when the water hit. There was no change,   
and rage stole over the youngest Saotome's face, "You..." she   
hissed turning to Willow, "...bitch! You did this! You're   
tormenting me!"  
  
She was ready to lunge when Yuki clamped a hand on Ranma's   
shoulder, in a surprising bit of turn around. One would think the   
older sister would have liked Willow to have died violently, "No   
worries, brother-dear. All it'll take to fix this is finding Nabiki   
and Rache. Them and me, Ranma, can break the block on your curse,   
okay?"  
  
"...really?"  
  
"Yes, really," and she guided Ranma out of the home, followed by   
Oz, Ken and Schuldich, leaving a stunned Willow Rosenberg behind.   
As they drifted aimlessly through the midnight streets, searching   
for a hotel, Schuldich frowned.  
  
/Yuki-onna./  
  
/Yeah?/ she wondered, despite already knowing what the German would   
ask. She may have been certifiably insane, with a chaotic mind, but   
the focus of her thoughts was all to visible, that he didn't have   
to dig for it.  
  
/Why didn't you tell Bishoujo the truth?/  
  
Yuki's grip tightened on Ranma's shoulder that the shorter girl   
took as a comfort squeeze, /Think for a moment, Guilt-boy. Which   
would my brother take better? The hope that he could be 'fixed'...   
or the fact that he's pregnant?/  
  
---  
  
Buffy Summers was, as she usually was at night, on patrol. To be   
more precise, she was heading home following patrol, when a   
familiar tingle whisked through her. Groaning, she turned and   
headed in the direction of the impending Vampire Attack.  
  
Stake in hand, Buffy turned a corner, and paused. There was a group   
of four-- one girl, three guys-- watching another girl saunter up   
to a _very_ confused looking vampire. The redhead-- the one   
sauntering-- did a little spin, bowing first to her audience, then   
to the vampire.  
  
"You," the girl's voice rang clear and Buffy was startled. The girl   
spoke in Japanese, and yet... the Summers girl could understand   
her, "picked the wrong person to attack."  
  
"You're human," the vamp growled, "that's all that matters," he   
lunged, and the girl side-stepped.  
  
"Actually, I'm pissed off," she smirked, and Buffy crept closer.   
Maybe she was another Slayer. Maybe Faith had died in prison, and   
this girl was the next to be called. Glancing at the audience,   
Summers decided that the oldest male-- the one with orange hair--   
had to be her Watcher. The others...  
  
Buffy returned her attention to the "battle" taking place. The   
redhead was weaving through the attacks, "I mean... the bitch witch   
just took my best friends, my band, _and_ my master, and refuses to   
tell me where they are. Cat is restless, and happens to be trying   
to force Human away, to wreak bloody havoc. I am _stuck_ like this   
until we find our missing Sorceress _and_ everyone's favorite   
Soldier of Death and Destruction. Like I said: I'm pissed off."  
  
The speech was confusing-- Buffy didn't really understand what the   
girl meant-- but what happened next wasn't. The girl whirled   
around, foot slamming into the small of the vampire's back, and   
there was a sickening crack.  
  
The vampire's spine was broken.  
  
"I wonder..." purred the possible Slayer, "I wonder... what sorts   
of lives you've drained away. I wonder... what blood tastes like   
for vampires."  
  
"Would you get on with it?" grumped the ebony haired woman, "As   
much fun as it is to watch you be psycho, my dear younger brother,   
_I_ would like to find a place to stay."  
  
"Yeah," the brown haired man that looked vaguely familiar spoke,   
"You can play your Cat-and-Mouse games _after_ we find a place to   
crash."  
  
"You hear Kitsune and Siberian," the redhead's lips quirked   
dangerously, "Looks like I'll have to find someone else to play   
with, later. As for you..." she held her palm out, facing the vamp,   
"... it's time experiment time. What can I drain from the un-dead?   
Happo Goen Satsu revised! Spirit Obliteration!"  
  
The vampire's body collapsed into dust around a glowing white and   
red ball, that hovered for a moment, before shooting off and   
disappearing into the night. The redhead looked confused, "Well...   
_that's_ never happened before."  
  
"It's probably because he was sustaining himself on the life force   
of others," mused an all too familiar voice, and Buffy realized one   
of the males was _Oz_, "You couldn't convert so many at one time,   
so they scattered."  
  
She shrugged, "Yeah, well, either way, _I_ didn't get any new   
power."  
  
"What do you need _more_ power for?" wondered the man Buffy had   
designated as the Watcher, "Don't you already have enough?"  
  
"Oh please, Guilt-boy," snorted the other female, "Ranma just likes   
the knowledge that he could eradicate his enemies all in one shot."  
  
Buffy decided that whatever was translating for her, sucked at it,   
because it kept messing up 'him' and 'her'.  
  
"We've got a watcher," mused the 'watcher'.  
  
The 'slayer' shrugged, "Know that since she arrived, Schuldich."  
  
"We all knew," Oz's lips twitched, and he turned to face Buffy,   
"Schuldich just wanted to be the one to say it. Hello Buffy."  
  
"Buffy?" questioned the familiar brunette, "Whoa! She grew up!"  
  
There were a couple snickers, and the ebony tressed woman grinned,   
"People generally tend to do that, Kenken."  
  
"Who are..." Buffy trailed off as she got a good look at Ken. His   
face tugged a cord in her memory, and she gaped, "X-x-Xander?!"  
  
---  
  
End Chapter  
  
---  
Chapter Four : Lodgings  
  
  
  
"Hi Buffy," Ken sighed, then blinked when the Slayer keeled over in   
a dead faint, "Er... huh?"  
  
Ranma nudged the blonde's ribs with her slippered toe, "That was   
unexpected. Hey, Ken, do you know where she lives?"  
  
Hidaka gave his friend a _look_, "Ranma, I haven't lived in this   
city for _years_. How the _hell_ would I know where she lives?!"  
  
"Calm down, Ken," Oz hushed, "I know where her mom lives. It's   
likely she still lives there. She _is_ only nineteen, after all."  
  
"Yeah, I guess," the assassin muttered, hauling the Slayer into his   
arms, "Lead the way, Wolf-boy."  
  
The other three trailed behind the two boys-- Ranma searching for   
another vampire to 'play' with, while Schuldich and Yuki held a   
mental conversation.  
  
/How long has Bishoujo been pregnant?/  
  
/Not much more than a few days, I'd wager,/ Yuki frowned, /I _told_   
him that if he was going to play with Farf in female form that   
they'd need protection./  
  
/If it's only been a few days, why couldn't he change back and   
destroy the fetus? It's not like it would do any harm./ Schuldich   
was frowning, wondering if they were doing the right thing by   
keeping knowledge of the pregnancy from Saotome.  
  
Yuki rubbed her forehead, /I think the curse is protecting the   
child. I don't have any clue as to why it would but.../  
  
/...but it just is. Damn, this is confusing!/  
  
/You said it, Oh Guilty One,/ she frowned suddenly, /Oh, damn, what   
are we going to say when Brother-dearest begins to show?/  
  
/Good question.../  
  
They fell silent after that, lost in their own thoughts, as they   
pondered the events of the day so far. All were wide awake, seeing   
as they were still on Tokyo time.   
  
"Here we are," Oz's voice broke the monotony of the trip,   
"Summers' residence."  
  
They made their way to the door, and Yuki knocked heavily. Several   
minutes of waiting later, and a girl with blonde kissed brown hair   
stood in the open door, "Yeah? Who are you?"  
  
"Hey Dawn," Oz called from behind the Saotome female, "Mind letting   
us in? Buffy's not a light person."  
  
"Oz...?" Dawn shrugged, then swung the door open. She didn't say a   
word-- vampires needed vocal allowance into a home after all, and   
she was not stupid-- and watched as everyone entered. No undead in   
the lot, "C'mon, her room is upstairs."   
  
"Thanks Dawn," the werewolf grinned, "You guys stay down here-- and   
don't steal _anything_! Don't destroy _anything_, got it?"  
  
"Yes Mama-wolf," trilled Schuldich, Yuki and Ranma with matching   
grins. Ken rolled his eyes, but nodded with a loose grin.   
Chuckling, the rainbow haired teenager trailed after Dawn, still   
carrying the insensate Slayer.  
  
"So what's our cover?" Ranma growled, "What do we tell everyone?"  
  
"I'm here for a visit," Ken turned to the trio behind him,   
"Schuldich refused to let me go alone, and decided to follow."  
  
"What about us?" Yuki thumbed herself and her currently female   
brother, "What's our excuse?"  
  
"You, Yuki, were coming to visit relatives-- you used to live here,   
ne?-- and your little sister wanted to meet the family she never   
knew, since your parents are separate," Schuldich threw in, "Oz   
came with you two as 'Xue Shi' and Oz are part of the same band,   
and he wanted to show his old haunts to his new friend."  
  
"How long have you been coming up with _that_ one?" wondered the   
afforementioned singer. The German smirked.  
  
"I've had everything planned out since I found out Kenken was   
Alexander back when I kidnaped him," at the two Saotome's   
incredulous looks-- and ignoring Ken's outraged glares-- he   
laughed, "Hey, you two can think fast in battle-- I'd rather not be   
sticking my foot in my mouth when it's _not_ a fight!"  
  
"That's why _you're_ Mastermind, and _she's_ Kitty," Yuki's eyes   
twinkled as Ranma-onna made a playful swipe at her head. As she   
ducked, the ebony tressed Saotome noted Oz's feet on the stairs,   
and soon the wolf was once again in their midst. Dawn came down not   
a moment later.  
  
"Why's she out, any ways?" the brunette wanted to know, "She   
doesn't look hurt."   
  
Ken stood from where he had taken up leaning against the wall and   
glaring at Schuldich while sending him mental death threats, "She   
was a bit surprised to see me, that's all."  
  
Dawn blinked, "Hey, who are you people?"  
  
"I'm Ken, although your sister knows me as Xander--"  
  
"The donut boy?" wondered the girl, "The one that took off a few   
years back?"   
  
"That would be me," Ken griped at the titled of 'donut boy'. He   
really _hated_ being called that, "Any ways... the redheaded moron   
is Schuldich, the black haired psycho is Yuki, and the feral   
redhead is Kitty, but we call her Xue Shi," he pointed to each in   
turn.  
  
"Sushi?"  
  
Ranma snarled, flexing her fingers like claws, and only just   
managed to contain her ki claws before she did something stupid--   
like gutting the Slayer's younger sister, "Xue. Shi. As in Chinese   
for 'Blood Stone'."  
  
She raised her hands in a calming gesture, "Sorry, sorry. Simple   
mistake, right?"  
  
"She's a little sensitive about that," Oz grinned wryly, "Xue Shi   
just _hates_ it when people who know who she is, and proclaim to be   
fans pronounce her name wrong."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"If we're done here..." Yuki trailed off meaningfully, and the   
others nodded.  
  
"Nice meeting you, Dawn," Schuldich smiled in such a conceding way   
that the girl bristled angrily, "Lets go, Ladies and Gents."  
  
Ranma and Yuki smirked at the younger female's expression before   
drifting out of the Summers' residence. Ken gave a short wave,   
following the other three out, while Oz paused.  
  
The werewolf turned back to face the Slayer's sister, "Dawn? Do me   
a favor and don't tell anyone we were here." and then he was gone,   
having vanished into the night after his friends.   
  
The youngest of the Summers' girls looked after him in confusion   
for a few minutes, before slowly closing the door.  
  
---  
  
The night passed swiftly, and the morning dawned brightly. The five   
from Japan had yet to sleep, although they had settled themselves   
down in the old mansion Ken remembered that the pleasant memory of   
sending Angelus to hell had taken place in.   
  
Sleep caught them unawares, and they fell one by one to Hypnos'   
charms, scattered about the mansion.   
  
It was probably for the best, as a certain Slayer had stopped by to   
track down the 'ghost' of Xander, who she _knew_ had died when that   
building had collapsed three years prior. Thankfully, she only   
checked the kitchen, living room, and master bedroom.  
  
Ken had sprawled himself out in the room that had once been   
Drucilla's-- in the rare times when she _wasn't_ sleeping with   
Angelus-- and Schuldich had joined him once the younger assassin   
had fallen asleep.  
  
Oz swiped Spike's room, while Ranma and Yuki had locked themselves   
into Angelus' 'torture chamber', to play with weapons; eventually   
falling into slumber.  
  
Buffy missed all of them, continuing off in her search for Xander,   
Oz and the new 'Slayer' and 'Watcher'.  
  
Hours later, the mansion shook with Hidaka's bellow of   
"Schuldich!" followed by Yuki's cackling laughter, and Ranma husky   
chuckle. The fuming Hidaka stalked through a few walls, taking out   
his temper on the mansion's decorations.  
  
Ranma was still chuckling as she watched him throw a fit, "There's   
a hissy fit if I ever saw one."  
  
"Just wait until _you_ start," Yuki muttered.  
  
"Huh? Wha'dya say?"  
  
"Hmm? Me? Why, I didn't say _anything_," tainted innocence dripped   
off her every word. Ranma eyed her sister suspiciously, before her   
stomach rumbled and distracted her. The redheaded singer gave off a   
pitiful kitty-cat whine as Oz entered the room.  
  
"Hungry?" he teased with an all-knowing grin. Xue Shi glowered at   
him, wrapping her arms around the bottomless pit she called a   
stomach.  
  
"There's no food in this house!"  
  
"The last occupants were vampires," the werewolf pointed out. Yuki   
nodded.  
  
"No food in this place, and no money to buy food with..."  
  
"Yuki!" Ranma was suddenly clinging to her sister with wide,   
sparkling eyes, "You're a Sorceress! Conjure me up some yen!"  
  
"Dollars," Schuldich corrected, breezing into the living room where   
they had gathered. His green eyes were still focused unwaveringly   
on Ken's temper-tantrum throwing form, "Americans uses dollars,   
Bishoujo."  
  
"Don't call me that. And I _know_ that!" Ranma grumped, "I _have_   
been here before. Yen just came out faster."  
  
Another rumbling stomach entered the fray and Ken paused in his   
smashing of antique vases and other valuables worth thousands upon   
thousands of dollars, and blushed, "Erm... I'm hungry!"  
  
"No kidding," Yuki returned with a smirk, "C'mon, let's go find   
some restaurant to massacre."  
  
"All you can eat?" Ranma was bouncing up and down. First, she would   
take care of her stomach. _Then_ she would deal with the redheaded   
witch that took her Jei-sama and her Ayan.  
  
"Nah," the Sorceress shrugged, already planning Rosenberg's violent   
death, "We want to be able to come back again, ne? I can conjure   
enough cash to splurge."  
  
As they left the mansion on Crawford Street, Ken let a bit of a   
laugh go, even as he fended off Schuldich's wandering hands, "Hey,   
Yuki?"  
  
"Yeah Ghostie?"  
  
"You're planning on killing the American economy, aren't you?"  
  
She grinned, "Well, it _was_ just one of those loose ends..."  
  
This sent the rest of them into howls of laughter. The sun was   
setting again, and the demons were coming out to play.  
  
All those that heard these five decided to play somewhere else.  
  
---  
  
End Chapter  
  
---  
Chapter Five : Sorceror  
  
  
  
When the group finally left the fine establishment known as   
Harvey's; the manager was sobbing tears of joy. They'd bought   
enough to feed a small army, seventy percent of which went to the   
Saotome 'Sisters'. The rest was devoured by a by a starving Ken,   
Oz, and Schuldich.   
  
In the midst of eating, Schuldich had wondered why Yuki had not   
just conjured them up some food, and Yuki had merely looked at the   
ceiling and blushed, muttering something about not being able to   
conjure food that actually tasted like anything except paper.  
  
Ranma stretched, patting her stomach gleefully, "Ah... that was   
good. Should last a couple hours."  
  
"No kidding," Yuki's eyes were shining, "Oh how I missed thee, oh   
American cheeseburger!"  
  
The others gave their own cheers to their full stomachs, before Ken   
took the lead and guided them back towards the Rosenberg residence.   
They had a novice witch to kill, after all.  
  
Unfortunately, they were not the only ones on their way to the red   
witch's home. Just as they got to the side walk in front of her   
house, there was an explosion of magical energy.  
  
Sharing a glance, the assassins plus one werewolf bolted through   
the open door, and skidded to a halt at what they saw.  
  
Two unconscious witches, all the paraphernalia the wiccans   
generally used for casting-- and that Sorceresses thought of as   
utterly absurd-- and the fading energies of a spell. Extending her   
senses, Yuki cursed vividly.  
  
"Dammit! They closed the warp point! It'll be next to impossible to   
find our friends!"  
  
"What?!" Ranma bellowed, ki and stolen mana flaring up around her   
body. Surprised, all the others could do was gape as Ranma-onna's   
clothing shifted into the same wear as when she had battled the   
Ginzoushou-- without the shifting to male form/losing of the black   
sports bra.  
  
Yuki whistled her appreciation, brown eyes taking in her brother-  
turned-sister's transformation.  
  
"Whoa," was Ken and Oz's response.  
  
Schuldich was too deep into his own fury over losing his sister to   
care. Instead, he rudely yanked the two wiccans back into   
consciousness, his own rarely seen sapphire aura burning brightly   
about him.  
  
The blond wiccan shrieked, hiding behind Willow, eyes wide and   
watching with fear. Rosenberg herself was frozen. She's seen   
Schuldich angry the night before.  
  
She was seeing him in a murderous rage, now.  
  
"You did this on purpose, didn't you, you fucking bitch!" he   
seethed, jade eyes flashing with his aura, as he glowered down at   
her.  
  
"D-d-d-d-did wh-what?" she squeaked, startled and embarrassed at   
the fear coloring her voice. She hadn't felt this afraid since   
Angelus had landed her in the hospital...  
  
"You stole my sister from me!" he roared, lunging at her-- and only   
missing as Ken snagged the German by the arms, yanking him back,   
and holding him in a full nelson. The telepath gnashed his teeth,   
snarling, "It was bad enough that you banished her-- them! Now   
you've closed the warp?!"  
  
"It wasn't my idea!" she squealed to save her own hide, "Giles said   
that-- that the warp was unstable, that--"  
  
"The warp was _always_ unstable," Yuki sneered, gathering the dark   
mana inherent to Sorceresses, "the spell was built that way."  
  
Ranma had been circling them all the while, the Saotome honor blade   
once more removed from subspace and held in a white knuckled grip.   
Blue eyes glowed with an unholy light, lips curled back in a snarl,   
"You took my Jei-sama and Ayan away..."  
  
"And the punishment for doing so," Oz snarled, wolf coming to the   
fore whether he liked it or not, "is the same as the punishment for   
destroying our lives."  
  
Three demented grins, Oz's dark smirk, and Ken's carefully blank   
face stared down at the cowering females. Their voices were   
identical in infliction and emotion as they spoke the condemning   
word: "Death."  
  
Ken's blank face cracked, and he stared sadly at the girl who had   
once been his best friend, "I... Wills..." he sighed, "Sorry..."   
before releasing Schuldich and turning away, so as not to have to   
watch his one-time friend's death.  
  
He lifted his head to look out the still open door, and cursed   
loudly, "Shit! Buffy and Giles!"  
  
"Who..." Yuki trailed off, eyes widening as she sent out her mana-  
senses, "Dear Gods... a Sorceror!"  
  
"A what?" Schuldich turned away from the whimpering wiccans, while   
Ranma peered upwards. The German frowned, "I thought you said there   
was no such thing!"  
  
Yuki shot the telepath an annoyed look, "I said they were rare.   
Triple the Witch to Warlock ratio, and that's how rare a true   
Sorceror is."  
  
"I'm glad you know the ratios," came the crisp accent of one Rupert   
"Ripper" Giles, "Care to explain what you five are doing here?"  
  
Yuki came back with a surprisingly accurate English accent, "Merely   
dealing with a couple of wanna-bes, Sorceror."  
  
"I am training them," the man returned calmly, "Destroying witches   
in training is illegal."  
  
Ranma snorted, drawing attention to her, "So's murder."  
  
"Uhm... huh?" was Buffy's oh-so intelligent input.  
  
Schuldich glowered nastily, "Rosenberg knowingly, and willingly,   
opened a mass transport to bring out friends to America with us,   
and then banished them while in mid-transport. If Ranma and Yuki   
hadn't been there, all but Kenken and Oz would have been banished."  
  
"Is this true, Willow?"  
  
"No! Of course not!"  
  
/Don't lie when there's a telepath in the room!/ a seething mental   
voice tore through their minds, and Buffy shrieked in surprise.  
  
Ranma growled lowly, reflecting on the reason they had come in the   
first place, "Enough."  
  
"Bishoujo?" "Ranma?" "Xue Shi?"  
  
"What's up little brother?" that one got a few odd looks. The   
redhead scowled.  
  
"We came here because we accepted a mission. We complete the   
mission, tie up loose ends, then deal with tracking everyone," her   
face was like ice, and her aura flared around her as she turned   
back to the wiccans, while the temperature in the room dropped   
several degrees, "You, Red, get to die by Jei-sama's hands."  
  
The others nodded at the idea, understanding that Ranma just wanted   
everything out of the way, so that she could be a) with Jei again,   
b) tormenting Ran yet again, and c) male. Ken crossed his arms,   
speaking up, "Right. Mission comes first. Where the hell is Glory's   
base of operation?"  
  
Giles turned to the nineteen year old, about to reprimand him for   
even _thinking_ of pulling a dumbass stunt like that, when he   
realized who talked. For a moment he stared, then stuttered, "X-x-  
x-Xander!"  
  
"Hey G-man," the former doughnut boy hardly looked amused, "It's   
Ken, now, though."  
  
"B-b-b-but you're dead!"  
  
"I am?"  
  
Oz's lips quirked, "New meaning for your nickname, Ghostie."  
  
"Shut it, Wolf-boy," Ken grumped, "I _hate_ that name!"  
  
"I thought you didn't like 'doughnut boy', Kenken." Yuki stated   
innocently. Ken made a face at that.  
  
"I _told_ you he didn't die when the building he was in   
collapsed!" Willow crowed with delight.  
  
"How did you..." Ken trailed off as Schuldich yanked free Willow's   
memories of scrying Xander until the accident that very nearly took   
his life, and implanted them into the assassin's mind. Siberian's   
eyes narrowed sharply, glaring at her, "You _scryed_ me? You didn't   
trust me to get along without you _watching_ me?!"  
  
"N-no Xander--"  
  
"It's _KEN_!" he roared, sending the Scoobies into shock,   
"Alexander Harris is _dead_! My name is Hidaka Ken... er, Ken   
Hidaka! I am _not_ the donut boy, or the Slayer's sidekick, or   
anything like that!"  
  
"Jesus Xander, calm down," Buffy tried, then froze at the dark look   
in her once friend's eyes.  
  
"Tell me, Wills, when you scried Oz and me last week... did you   
notice what our jobs are?"  
  
"Huh?" the redhead looked confused, "Your job? What does that have   
to do with anything?"  
  
"Everything," Yuki purred, psychotic smile in place, "Our jobs are   
our lives. We're very good at what we do, ne Siberian, Mastermind,   
Bastet?"  
  
"Yeah," agreed Ranma, still gripping her sword, but now grinning   
madly, "Our lives are built around our jobs."  
  
Giles seemed a bit hesitant, but finally asked, "And what _is_ your   
job?"  
  
Ken wasn't normally one to be a bastard, but these _were_ the   
people who fucked his life over. He had lost Jesse to them-- he   
would be dead, too, if Buffy had never shown up. Sometimes he   
wondered if he should have died. It mattered little, however.  
  
"We're assassins."  
  
A moment of silence, then Buffy snorted, "Very funny Xander. What   
is--"  
  
She didn't get any further, as 'Xander' kicked her in the stomach,   
and pulled his bugnuks from somewhere. He'd slipped them on, and   
was holding the pose over her neck and heart by the time she got   
her breath back.  
  
"I don't lie," Ken growled, "Not about this. Not about what I've   
been doing for three years."  
  
"Xa--Ken!" Giles barked, catching himself before he slipped up,   
"Put her down!"  
  
Ken withdrew, but not because of Giles, although he let the   
Sorceror believe that. He snapped the claws back and flexed his   
fingers, "The only reason we came is because we made a promise."  
  
Buffy was scowling darkly at him, "A promise?"  
  
"We recently finished a mission for the combined forces of Japan   
and America," Yuki smirked, "Killed a shit load of 'superheros'."  
  
"The promise," Oz intoned, "Was to pick up their slack by saving   
the world for them."  
  
"So," Ranma pointed her sword at them, "Guess why we bothered to   
come?"  
  
---  
  
End Chapter  
  
---  
Chapter Six : Bait  
  
  
  
They had gathered at the Magic Box, Rupert's store. Anya manned the   
counter, even as Willow, Tara, Buffy, Dawn Giles and Spike lounged   
in the loft. They were all eying the quintet that had made   
themselves quite comfortable sprawled about. Aside from Spike-- who   
was taking a bit to much of an interesting in watching Yuki   
'drawing' on Ranma-onna's arms with a knife-- the Scoobies were   
uncomfortable with the assassins.  
  
"Shit!"  
  
The group jumped as Ranma's curse filled the air.  
  
"Sorry," said a completely unrepentant Yuki, "Didn't mean to slit   
your wrist. You would think that having Jei-san as your lover,   
he'd be doing this all the time."  
  
The younger Saotome snorted disbelievingly, even as Yuki whispered   
a small healing spell and focused it along the bleeding wound. She   
didn't want her 'art' being destroyed before she finished. With the   
suicide-cut healed, not even leaving a scar, she went back to   
etching in her currently female brother's flesh.  
  
"Look," Ken finally growled, annoyed at the length of the time that   
they had been there without answers, "Tell us where the fuck Glory   
is, what the hell she wants, and what her weaknesses are, and we'll   
be out of your faces."  
  
There was a bit of nervous tittering, and Schuldich growled about   
morons. Then, just to be spiteful, he tore the information from   
their minds, as painfully as possible.  
  
He _had_ been a "bad guy", after all.  
  
"They don't know," the German snorted, staring down at the girls   
and Rupert as they clutched at their heads and willed the pain   
away, "She was some sort of 'key', but none of them know what that   
is. Dumbasses."  
  
Yuki lifted her hand from where she had been casting various spells   
on her 'sister's' mutilated arm. "Well, if they don't know, we   
don't stay. We can deal with this chick on our own."  
  
Oz nodded, pushing off the wall he had been leaning against,   
"Right. We take Glory, you take the regular vamps."  
  
They were almost out of the shop when a furious Buffy finally   
fought off her headache, "What makes you think _you_ can take out   
Glory when _I_ can't?!"  
  
"Because," Ranma called over her shoulder, "I've killed a god   
before. Can _you_ say the same?"  
  
---  
  
"Did you really?"  
  
Ranma-onna looked over her shoulder, annoyed, to see a strange man   
in a burgundy cloak, "Did I _what_?"  
  
"Kill Saffron," the man wondered, "There were rumors that Saotome   
was in Sunnydale."  
  
"Which Saotome?" Ranma smirked, "Yuki or Ranma? If you're looking   
for Yuki, you're looking at the wrong one."  
  
"You are Saotome Ranma, then?" and Ranma realized the guy was   
speaking Japanese as a courtesy, over allowing the translation   
spell to do all the work.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh, good!" and the cloaked man lashed out with a massive Chinese   
flat sword, "The mistress will enjoy _your_ power!"  
  
Ranko dodged nimbly, smirking as she did so, "You must be one of   
Glory's goons."  
  
He ignored her, attacking again and again, driving the redhead back   
and off the rooftop. She landed lightly, on all fours as per the   
Cat demanded, barely rolling out of the way as the blade cut down   
where she had previously been.  
  
Kitty bounced to her feet, ready to fight-- until a man her mind   
had designated as powerless entered the fight. He wrapped his arms   
around her, pinning hers in place-- then the male chest pressed   
against her back became very female.  
  
The grip she had almost thrown off suddenly became much tighter,   
and Ranma cursed. Why did this shifter get stronger in female form,   
and Ranma didn't?  
  
Oh, right, her mind supplied as her oxygen was cut off. You get   
faster. Kitty no Baka.  
  
---  
  
/Bishoujo's out cold/  
  
Yuki and Oz looked at each other as Schuldich's message came   
across. With a wave of her hand, Yuki opened a gate to the   
telepath's location, and stepped through.   
  
Oz crossed his arms, "Took long enough."  
  
"Rumors take a while to get started," the German pointed out with a   
grin, "It's only been three days."  
  
"Setting little brother up as bait was a good idea," mused the   
elder sibling, opening another gate, this one back to the mansion,   
"This way we can track Glory down and get to the important stuff   
faster."  
  
"Right," the others agreed.  
  
Their plan had been simple-- spread rumors that Saffron's killer,   
Saotome Ranma, was in Sunnydale amongst the demon population. Wait   
for Glory to pick up Ranma in order to convert/brainwash the   
sociopathic martial artist into helping her.   
  
From there, Yuki would gate the others in, wipe out Glory, then   
deal with the Scoobies and their missing teammates. A wonderful   
uncomplicated plan, so as to leave little area for mishap.  
  
Ranma's introduction to the Ginzoushou had taught them the value of   
simple plans.  
  
They would wait a few hours till then, to ensure that Glory would   
be in the area to 'inspect' Ranma, or that the boy turned girl   
would be in the woman's base.  
  
Unfortunately, waiting was bloody boring, and Yuki had no one to   
"draw" on, let alone "play" with. The others all valued their blood   
too much, enjoying the current amount filling their bodies.  
  
---  
  
Ranma awoke to a scenery much different than the one she'd been   
knocked out in. Expected, considering that it was part of the plan.   
She stretched and yawned, peering around what appeared to be a...   
bedroom? Weird.  
  
"I was wondering when you'd wake up."  
  
A blond woman drifted into the room, smiling in an all together too   
bright way. The martial artist opened her mouth to demand to know   
where she was, but that bit of darkness awoken during the fight   
with Cosmos slipped forwards and into control, "Glorificus? Is that   
you?"  
  
The Hell Goddess gave a squeal of delight, sweeping Ranma-onna up   
into a bone-crushing hug, "Yay! You _do_ remember me! Oh... Orfiel,   
what are you even _doing_ on this plane??"  
  
Ranma wanted to respond with a 'what the hell?' but couldn't do   
much more then watch at that other part of her called forth the   
all-too familiar black mist, sweeping up around her and clinging to   
her body like clothing. Ranma felt herself shoved into the back of   
her mind as her other fully took over like it had during the battle   
a week earlier. Except this time, Ranma was fully conscious.  
  
Orfiel shrugged out of Glory's grip with surprising ease, "Living.   
It's quite the experience."  
  
"You can't _possibly_ be happy like this!" shrieked the blonde,   
"You're trapped in a mortal body!"  
  
"So are you," the one within Ranma responded dryly, "And I _am_   
happy. Or, I was. I plan to brutally murder Willow Rosenberg for   
taking away my Ayan!"  
  
Ayan... What about Jei-sama?! raged Ranma in the back of their   
currently shared head. To his surprise, Orfiel answered back--   
Telling Glorificus that I... _we_... have a master is _not_ an   
intelligent thing to do, mortal-self.  
  
Great, Ranma thought, now I have _three_ personalities.  
  
"Ayan...?" questioned the confused Hell Goddess, "who is Ayan?"  
  
"A friend," Orfiel smiled brightly, "Who is a _very_ skilled   
assassin," No, not three personalities, mortal-self. You and I will   
merge into one soon enough... about nine months from now, actually.  
  
The hint went _completely_ over Ranma's figurative head.  
  
"_You_ have mortal friends?" sneered Glory, "You're not the Orfiel   
I remember growing up with!"  
  
"Well, I'm certainly not Luciel," the redhead snorted, before   
waving cheerfully, "Hi Sis!"  
  
Yuki had opened the gate a moment earlier, and she and the others   
had piled through. The Sorceress' eyes widened, catching a flash of   
Orfiel's power levels, before the newest 'personality' submerged   
itself back into Ranma's subconscious.  
  
Kitsune's lips quirked, "Little brother. Who's your friend?"  
  
Glory spun around to face the Sorceress, keeping her eyes locked on   
the magic user. Pfft, like anything could harm _her_.  
  
"This is Glory, aka Glorificus," Ranma grinned, "and the reason   
we're in America."  
  
"Who the... Orfiel, what's going on?!"  
  
"Glory, allow me to introduce my older sister, Sorceress Yuki, aka   
the assassin Kitsune," a ruthless grin spread across her face,   
"We've been hired to wipe your sorry ass out."  
  
"Actually, I thought we were forced into it...we're not even   
getting any money out of this." Oz muttered.  
  
"What...?" Glory desperately shifted into Ben, in an attempt to   
escape. Surely they wouldn't kill him! Humans were soft like   
that... and the gender-shift would confuse them long enough that   
their minds would tell them it never happened, and she could get   
away. Unfortunately for her, not one member of the group even   
batted an eye.  
  
"I can do that, too, Glory," Ranma supplied the reason helpfully,   
"Changing your form won't help."  
  
"But... I'm not Glory!" yelped the startled doctor, wondering what   
exactly was going on. Who were these people? Why did they have him   
surrounded... and why did they look so bloodthirsty?? "Honestly!"  
  
"Not buyin' it," Ranma gave him a toothy grin. Schuldich was   
suddenly gripping Ben in a full nelson. He found it surprisingly   
simply to breech the pathetic shields around Ben's mind; and had   
soon ended his life telepathically. He dropped the body to the   
floor, and stared down at it in disgust. He had been hoping for   
something a bit tougher.  
  
"That was... surprisingly anti-climactical."  
  
"Shit. We got dragged out here for nothing." Ken grumbled.  
  
Ranma snorted, and Yuki felt Orfiel's magical signature come forth,   
immediately going on guard, "Hell Gods and Goddesses rarely take   
into account psychic attacks, and even then, when they do, they   
rarely, if ever, bother to teach their hosts how to block such   
attacks. They're more focused on the physical and magical aspect of   
attacks since there are such few telepaths in the world."  
  
"Do we have to worry about her resurrecting herself?" Yuki   
pondered, wary eye on her not-quite-sister.  
  
The redhead tilted her head, amused, "Not for at least twenty   
years. Until then, she'll be a pissed off Deitian Spirit, not a   
Hell God."  
  
"So..." Schuldich had also been prepping his own defenses, "Who,   
exactly, are _you_?"  
  
Ken and Oz looked at the tense German and Japanese, confused. What   
were they talking about? That was just Ranma...  
  
But the redhead grinned widely, "I'm surprised you hadn't noticed   
me before now. Then again, you never saw the 'black mist' before,   
did you?"  
  
"Are you going to answer?" growled Yuki.  
  
And thus, she bowed, "Hell God-slash-Fallen Angel of Chaos, Orfiel,   
at your service!"  
  
---  
  
End Chapter  
  
---  
Chapter Seven : Plans  
  
  
  
"Hell God?!" cursed Ken, dropping into a defensive stance, "Like   
Glory?!"  
  
"Hardly," Orfiel ignored the fact that Ranma's fiends were prepped   
to kill her, "Glory didn't like being mortal. I _do_."  
  
"And that makes _what_ difference?" the German growled, once more   
cursing Ranma's chaotic, feral minds, as it buffered against his   
attempts to read Orfiel's intentions.  
  
"Plenty," Orfiel smirked, "Seeing as Glory was attempting to leave   
her host. I, on the other hand, am quite content with life and had   
already begun the merging process, shortly after the Ginzoushou   
last attacked my mortal-self."  
  
They stared hard at her, but reading Orfiel wasn't as easy as   
reading Ranma. There was not one of them that could tell if the   
Hell God was lying.  
  
The girl's smirk lessened a fraction, "We _would_ have finished   
merging this week; there's just been a ... delay of three quarters   
of a year."  
  
Ghostie and the Wolf looked utterly confused, but Yuki and   
Schuldich realized what she meant. So, Ranma's pregnancy interfered   
with the merging of a mortal and a Hell God.  
  
Orfiel allowed herself to fade back behind Ranma's consciousness.   
Confused blue eyes met her sister's brown ones, "What did Orfiel   
mean?"  
  
"Well," Yuki crowed suddenly, "I think we have a witch and her   
friends to deal with, no?"  
  
"Of course!" Schuldich pounded his fist into his palm, "We've got   
to pay them back for stealing my baby sister!"  
  
"And Jei-sama!" mind sufficiently diverted, Ranma forgot all about   
Orfiel's "mysterious" words. She grinned ferally, "They're gonna   
learn that messing with this wild cat isn't a smart thing to do."  
  
---  
  
Buffy Summers paced the floor of the Magic Box, irritated, "They   
just took off! They're going to get themselves killed!"  
  
She had been ranting as such since she had returned from her   
evening patrol with Spike at her heels. She didn't care that it had   
already been three days since they had taken off-- she was upset   
because they thought they could do what she couldn't. So involved   
in her ranting, she never even noticed Ken phasing through the   
wall, and pantomiming her actions.  
  
Tara and Willow were attempting, unsuccessfully, to stifle their   
laughter, but neither Ranma nor Schuldich bothered. Buffy whirled,   
surprised to see the group back so soon. A smug smirk crossed her   
face, "Didn't find her, I take it?"  
  
"Glorificus is dead, for the moment," Yuki returned cooly. A cold   
smirk crossed her face as Buffy's triumphant look turned to shock,   
"Would you care to join her?"  
  
"Is that a threat?!" and shock turned to fury.  
  
"No, it's a promise," Yuki granted the blond one of her most   
psychotic grins, before turning to her 'brother'. "Ranma? You deal   
with them. The longer I stay, the more powerful the urge to kill   
them all-- and we still need some of them."  
  
Ranma nodded, turning towards the Scoobies as Yuki opened a gate   
right beneath her feet, and vanished into the portal. Cracking her   
knuckles, the redhead advanced, "The more you help us, the more   
likely you are to survive."  
  
"Oh yeah, like _you_ could kill us?" sneered Buffy, "A Slayer, two   
witches, a Sorceror, and a vampire? Ha!"  
  
"Let's see, a Sorceress, a telepath, a werewolf, an assassin, and,   
oh yes! A Hell God," purred Kitty, "I think _we_ have the upper   
hand."  
  
"And you _will_ help," Ken growled, "It's her--" and here he   
pointed to Willow, "--fault that our friends are gone--"  
  
"They invited themselves!" Willow shrieked, "it was only supposed   
to be you and Oz!"  
  
Schuldich blurred across the room, catching her by the throat, and   
slamming her against a bookshelf, "You wanted to separate my Kenken   
from me-- I _don't_ like people messing with my property or my   
family. Which means _everyone_ who came with us who _you_   
banished!"  
  
"Willow!" shouted a number of people, froze in shock at the sudden   
attack.  
  
"I'm not your property," Ken muttered sourly, although he made no   
move to help his once best friend.  
  
Who was kicking at the German, clawing frantically at the hands   
wrapped around her throat, sobbing wildly, when Ranma kicked him in   
the head, "Put her down, Schu. We need her to tune the warp to her   
signature."  
  
He dropped the girl to rub at the place of impact, and tried to get   
his skull to stop spinning, "Shit! You kick hard, Bishoujo!"  
  
"That was just a tap!" argued Saotome, "I pulled that kick _so_   
much..."  
  
"Cut it out you two," Oz grumbled, "Are we going to get this   
_done_, or do we have to wait until you get your acts together,   
hmmm...?"  
  
Ken nodded, "Yeah. We have lives to get back to and to do that   
we've got people to find."  
  
"Right!" Saotome turned back to the confused Scoobies, stalking   
towards Willow, ignoring the other redhead's glares, "You,   
Rosenberg, are going to take us to where you first performed the   
spell."  
  
She tried not to look intimidated, but the burning blue aura, and   
the lashing black mist curling around her was rightfully   
terrifying.  
  
"Then," Ken continued, not looking at his ex-friend, but at Giles,   
"You are going to help Willow re-cast her warp spell along the   
_exact_ _same_ path she used last time."  
  
"We'll go back to Japan," Schuldich put in, "re-cast the runes and   
wards, then we'll follow the path of our friends."  
  
"And all of you," Wolf-boy ended gravely, "will come with us. _No_   
exceptions."  
  
"What?!" Buffy glared at him, all the while thinkin 'traitor', "Why   
do _we_ have to come?!"  
  
Ken shot her down with a glare he had learned under the combined   
tutorial gazes of Crawford and Ran. "We don't need you locking us   
in whatever reality our friends are in, with no way home."  
  
"What do you care?" she sniped spitefully, "You haven't been home   
in three years!"  
  
"My home is Japan," he spoke in a deadly soft voice, "It's where I   
belong. My friends, and my family, live there. I have a life and a   
job there. It's certainly better than living in this shit hole,   
with an abusive father, and a drunken mother, just waiting for   
death by a vampire."  
  
The Scoobies were watching him wide-eyed-- Xander had never spoken   
like this to them. Then again, he kept pressing that Alexander was   
dead and gone, and he was Ken. The silence held for a number of   
minutes, before Ranma broke it.  
  
"Good. We've got a deal."  
  
"Wait, we didn't--" Giles started, only to falter at the icy glare   
he got in return. Ranma smiled brilliantly.  
  
"Alright! Off to Rosenberg's place!"  
  
---  
  
Yuki was stomping around Sunnydale, both annoyed and relieved she   
had left when she had. Annoyed that she couldn't rip Willow into   
itty-bitty little shreds, and gleefully spreading the girl's   
remains around the city for the demons to feast on. She wanted to   
correct the mistake made all those years ago, when the witch   
survived the coven's massacre.  
  
But she was relieved because of one simple fact. Had she killed   
Rosenberg, she wouldn't have any way to follow the magical passage   
to Aya-chan. The wiccan was the only connection to the banishment   
of her girlfriend.  
  
Of course, as soon as Aya-chan was found, the redheaded witch would   
not be surviving very long.  
  
/Yuki-onna, we've got everything set up./  
  
Schuldich's mental interruption halted her momentary distraction of   
chasing Vampires around Sunnydale and zapping them with a simple   
thunder spell. Pouting, she redirected her energies to stalking   
down the road, back in the direction of Ranma's unique mana   
signature.  
  
/I'll be there in a few, Guilt-boy. Don't start the party without   
me!/  
  
He laughed, and slipped out her head. With a bounce, she was off   
the road and off to the rooftops, randomly choosing targets to vent   
her ire upon as she made her way towards the Rosenberg residence.   
It was rather enjoyable, actually. She had hit vampires and   
criminals, but she had also zap humans being hunted by vampires,   
just so she could laugh as a vampire would electrocute himself by   
biting the still electrified humans.   
  
Or, she would zap the vamp and cackle madly as the freaking would-  
be-happy-meal-on-legs ran away. She dealt with criminals in much   
the same manner.   
  
Unfortunately, her fun met an abrupt end as she came across the   
Rosenberg residence, and dropped back to street level. With a put-  
upon sigh, she slammed open the door with enough magical force that   
the hinges creaked, cracked, and broke.  
  
Having vent her anger, Yuki skipped into the household in her   
normal, psychotic self.  
  
"Hey Yuki!" called the familiar husky soprano of her at-the-moment-  
sister, "Glad you actually decided to show up."  
  
"Didya miss me?" she puckered up for a kiss, but Ranma just gave a   
bark of laughter, shoving her sister away.  
  
"We're ready," she called upon entering the incomplete circle,   
"Let's go back to Japan!"  
  
Like she had the nearly five days prior, Willow began chanting.   
This time, however, under the knowing gaze of both Giles and Yuki,   
Willow refrained from modifying the spell so that the Saotome   
siblings and Schuldich would end up banished.   
  
They were interfering with her retrieval of Xander and Oz! Who   
cared if Giles agreed with them-- _Buffy_ had give her the oka, and   
who matters more than the Slayer? She would just have to bide her   
time a bit. She had gotten a magical printing of their spiritual   
and mana signatures. If she didn't get rid of them now, she could   
get rid of them later.   
  
And when Xander and Oz came running back to her for help, she could   
free them from whatever spell Yuki had used to geas-bind them to   
her.  
  
Saotome Yuki was evil incarnate. Saotome Ranma was a Hell Goddess.   
Obviously, they had been playing with the minds of her friends. But   
that was okay.  
  
Willow would free them.  
  
---  
  
End Chapter  
  
---  
Chapter Eight : Nekoma  
  
  
  
When the warp opened, and the travelers scrambled to their feet   
after a few minutes of disorientation, or unconsciousness, they   
were in for a not-so-nice surprise.  
  
Nodoka and Kojiro were on one of the couches, still pushed up   
against the wall, talking quietly. On the other side of the room   
was Genma, Soun and Kasumi. Ranma winced. Well. This would be fun.  
  
Thankfully, only her mother, Todoh Nodoka-- who had recently   
divorced one Saotome Genma, and retaken her family name-- and her   
ex-fiancee's oldest sister, Tendou Kasumi, had noticed her. Neither   
her father, nor Kasumi's noticed the arrival, so involved were they   
in delusions that could put anything Kunou Tatewaki could have ever   
some up with.  
  
Mudoh Kojiro failed to notice their arrival, although that was more   
due to the fact that his back was to them, and he was playing a   
very active part in the conversation he was holding with Nodoka.  
  
"Whoa, where are we?" questioned the Slayer, drawing attention to   
the group. Kitty wanted to hit her. Dumb girl.  
  
"Ranma!" came the duel shouts from the fathers, Genma standing tall   
over his female son.  
  
"Boy!" he bellowed, "Change back now!"  
  
"Why should I?" Ranma ignored the fuming looks she was being   
directed, as she and her sister began hustling the Scoobies out of   
the main living room and into the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah, why should he?" Yuki repeated as she gave grin at Genma.   
"Hello, old-man-that-is-my-father-but-sold-me-off-right-after-I-  
flew-from-the-womb!!"  
  
Soun grabbed the redhead's shoulder, "As Akane is in a coma, and   
Nabiki has vanished somewhere yet again, it is up to you and Kasumi   
to marry and continue the family line!"  
  
"Screw that!" she snorted, twisting out of his grip, "And how the   
hell did you find this place?"  
  
This time Kasumi spoke up, "Nishen Kaoru told us, Ranma-chan," the   
redhead wondered if the Tendou family was psychologically fucked--   
excluding Nabiki. They seemed to be ignoring the fact that Ranma   
was the reason the youngest Tendou had been in a coma for over six   
months now.  
  
"Kaoru? Oz's girlfriend?" wondered Ken, who was generally the   
'secret' of the House since he was almost always the one to answer   
the phone. Of course, that was only because everyone else would   
prefer to let it ring, and Omi was more often at the Dojo than at   
the House.  
  
"Ex-girlfriend," Kasumi informed them politely, "She was saying   
something about him not returning her phone calls."  
  
"Hmm... I should tell him that," Ken returned glibly, leaving Ranma   
alone with the fathers and Kasumi.  
  
"Boy!" Genma barked, "For honor you must join the--" he was cut off   
by being turned into a panda, but Soun picked up right on the beat.  
  
"Join the schools! It is for their continued survival that you   
_must_ marry Aka-- Kasumi!"  
  
"No."  
  
"What?!" [What?!]  
  
The panda was waving a sign frantically, [Oh for shame! My only son   
and honorless coward!]  
  
"I'll agree on the honorless part," she flashed a grin that was all   
teeth, "I _have_ picked up a bit of a tendency to kick people when   
I'm down-- just like you, ya old fool. But... coward I am not."  
  
Orfiel decided to take the forefront this time. Rarely had the Hell   
God had a chance to come forwards-- the most spectacular time was   
during the fight against the Ginzoushou-- and now that both Yuki   
and Schuldich knew all about the shift, there was no problem.   
  
The deity could do whatever it wanted, without worrying about its'   
own survival.  
  
"Of those who have called me a coward, only three of them still   
live. One is continuously lost. One can never use his katana ever   
again. And one is a fat idiot who is about to join the ranks of the   
_dead_!" the end was a thunderous shout, momentarily shocking the   
two older martial artists and freezing them in place.  
  
A sharp washi-geri caught Soun in the ribs, and sent him flying   
towards his daughter. Kasumi nimbly dodged the flying projectile,   
as Ranma faced her father.  
  
---  
  
In the kitchen, Ken slapped Oz on the shoulder, "Nishen dumped   
you."  
  
"Huh?" he blinked, "Kaoru-chan did what...?"  
  
"Dumped, ditched, left, runaway, up the creak with no paddle. You   
are once again a single man," Ken plopped down into a chair. Oz   
opened his mouth to ask why, but Willow cut him off.   
  
The redhead was positively livid, "You got a new girlfriend!?"  
  
"What's it to you?" he gave Tara a pointed look before shifting his   
gaze back to the wiccan, "You picked up a girlfriend as well."  
  
"It's not the same!" she snapped, glaring at him and missing Tara's   
crushed look. Oz didn't, and firmed his resolve against his   
girlfriend from his high school days.  
  
"What, you wanted me to stay celibate forever?"  
  
Before she could answer, there was the familiar heavy thud of a   
body slamming against a wall. The Scoobies bound to their feet,   
instantly on the defense, but the assassins didn't move.  
  
"It's just Ranma and our dad," Yuki grinned ferally, "Sounds like   
the ass is finally getting what he deserves."  
  
The grins on the assassins' faces did _not_ put the Scoobies at   
ease.  
  
---   
  
Kasumi knelt over her unconscious father and made a note to herself   
to inform him that he needed to train for a longer period of time.   
After that, she looked up to the cursed forms of the Saotome males   
face off. They were circling each other, knees bent, bodies   
relaxed. At any moment, they could burst into action.,  
  
Only... they weren't. They were staring each other down, not even   
an insult leaving their lips. It was indefinitely creepy after two   
years of loud, crass fights. For once, they were serious.  
  
Genma was not as patient as Ranma, apparently, as he lashed out   
first. A sharp front kick was blocked, Ranma's right arm sweeping   
her father's right leg out of the way. She countered with a fist to   
the skull that was narrowly dodged, and Genma's return back fist   
was turned aside. Ranma buried her foot into her father's furry   
pot-belly, launching herself into the air and bringing the fight   
upwards.  
  
The older martial artist followed suit, leaping up after his son,   
and throwing a rising uppercut. Ranma twisted out of the way, her   
foot ramming into Genma's panda-face. Up went the teen, down went   
the adult. Genma flipped himself over, both feet slamming into the   
ground before he was off again.  
  
"Kijin Rasshu Dan!"  
  
Ranma was dropping fast as her father's vacuum blades arced past   
her, slicing her arms and legs. Genma didn't want to kill his son,   
after all-- just force him into marrying a Tendou. He didn't care   
which one.  
  
Kitty, on the other hand, couldn't care less if she fatally injured   
the man that had destroyed her life. Ki crackled like lightening   
down her arms, extending into life-rending claws. The ki used to   
form them had an emerald hue, Orfiel diligently tapping into the   
store of mana and feeding it to the martial artist.   
  
The Hell God could not use the Neko-ken-- their merger wasn't quite   
complete enough for that-- but that didn't mean Orfiel couldn't   
still play in the back of the Cat's mind as she attacked.  
  
Gleefully, Kitty surrendered to the pure, mind-numbing insanity of   
the Cat, instead of the half-way state she had been holding herself   
in for weeks. Genma would _pay_ for all he had done to her.  
  
All this took seconds, and Genma had only just begun to throw   
another blade, "Kijin Ra--GAHHHH!"  
  
Ranma-neko had pounced, electrified claws extended, hands glowing   
with Sailor Mercury's ice mana. Genma had dodged-- or at least,   
attempting to dodge-- and the ki claws pierced his thigh instead of   
his chest. Screaming in pain, the elder Saotome only barely managed   
to yank his leg off the immaterial claws.  
  
The electricity had cauterized the wound, but he had managed to get   
frost bite at the same time. A wicked grin on his son-turned-  
daughter's face was all he got when stunned and horrified eyes   
lifted.  
  
This was not his son.  
  
This was the beast he had spent far too much stolen cash to get rid   
of eight years prior, after the disastrous trip to Ireland.  
  
This was Nekoma-- the Demon Cat.  
  
---  
  
"Wh-wh-what was th-th-that?" stuttered Tara, wide eyes staring out   
the door that led to the hall, that led to the living room. They'd   
just heard a pain-filled female scream, and a gleeful, feline yowl.   
The Scoobies were still on their feet, tense, and ready to "run to   
the rescue". The only reason they hadn't, yet, was because   
Schuldich was standing in the doorway.  
  
"Sounds like the old fool got hit," mused Yuki, before she turned   
to Oz, "Out of all of us, you've known Ranma the longest. What was   
that yowl?"  
  
"Nekoma," Oz shook his head, "At least, that's what Xue Shi said   
her father called her right after kidnaping her from Farfello."  
  
"Demon Cat?" quote William the Bloody, who finally spoke up instead   
of looking amused at the situation. The werewolf shrugged.  
  
"She doesn't remember much from that time. Says it's all the   
"Quack-Bitch's" fault," his lips quirked, "She doesn't trust very   
many doctors."  
  
"Explains why he's always telling us to--" Ken paused as another   
scream wrench the air. Once it stopped, he continued, "---visit   
this one doctor in Kansai. Probably the only one he trusts."  
  
There was a general nod of consensus from the regular occupants   
from the House. And they climb one more step up the ladder and   
called it 'understanding Ranma'.  
  
"Ranma stop! You'll regret killing him when you come out! Ranma!"   
Kasumi's voice echoed around them, before she yelped and came   
barreling down the hall. To everyone's surprise, she was   
effortlessly carrying Soun over one shoulder.  
  
Schuldich moved enough for her to fly past. Almost as soon as she   
was in, she dropped Soun and ducked behind Nodoka and Kojiro, who   
were seated at the table. Everyone watched either her, or the door   
for a few minutes. When nothing happened, the Scoobies let out a   
collective sigh of relief.  
  
A sigh that became a scream when a bloodied Saotome Genma   
ricocheted into the room. Nekoma bounced in with a gleeful screech,   
although her eyes were glazed, and her body shaking.  
  
She blinked, and managed to drop onto her knees as Orfiel wrenched   
control from the Cat, "He's dead. Vampire-- you can have him if   
mother says so. The Cat wants a nap-- I'll let him sleep out the   
madness," she shook, "never thought fight for control would be so   
damned hard."  
  
Still shaking, she got outside the kitchen before being shoved   
back. The Cat took control, and Nekoma headed towards the familiar   
scent of her master. She would await him within his room.  
  
---  
  
End Chapter  
  
---  
Chapter Nine : Arrival  
  
  
  
After the particularly interesting-- to Schuldich, Yuki and   
Nodoka-- experience of watching Spike drain all the blood form the   
now officially dead Saotome Genma, and after Ranma had returned   
from Nekoma's nap, they had a new decision to make.  
  
"_Please_?"  
  
Kasumi wanted to come. Oh, they had thought of sending her off to   
drop Soun back at the dojo, but Kojiro had already left to do so.   
Nodoka had left not all that long afterwards-- leaving Spike with a   
message to "come by any time. Ko-chan and I could find you someone   
to munch on"-- to take a look at Genma's will. She was _positive_   
she was _still_ the only beneficiary, but she wanted to be doubly   
sure. No point in being caught unawares.  
  
So that left the assassins, the Scoobies, Oz and Kasumi behind. And   
they couldn't find a reason to leave her at the House. Honestly,   
Ranma just didn't want Kasumi there to see the deaths of the   
Scoobies; she didn't know how the kind-hearted nineteen year old   
would react.  
  
"_Please_?" she tried again, adding in the standard Puppy-Dog eyes.   
Ranma had no defenses against Kasumi. Neither did Oz, Ken,   
Schuldich or Giles. Yuki held back a smirk as the triumphant girl   
gave all but Giles a good squeeze of thanks-- and held onto Oz a   
bit longer than she really had too.  
  
Schuldich snickered, /Someone has a crush./  
  
/Figured it was something like that,/ Yuki returned with a mental   
laugh.  
  
Throughout the 'argument' with Kasumi, Willow had been redoing the   
wards and the circle from the days previous. With it now decided   
upon who would be coming, they piled into the unfinished circle. A   
few more marks, and it was done, and Willow began to chant the warp   
spell, while Giles spoke the words that would force the path back   
onto the exact same route that they had taken the last time.  
  
Yuki threw in her own spell, mumbling it under her breath, to   
ensure that neither witch nor Sorceror could hear the actual words,   
although they knew she was casting. What they believed to be an   
extra protection spell was a two-fold spell. The first part was   
crafted such that each member of the Scoobies would be bound to one   
of her group-- Willow, obviously, was bound to herself. Buffy was   
chained to Ranma, while Anya was to Ken, Giles to Schuldich, Tara   
to Oz, and Spike to Kasumi. The second part of the spell would   
prevent the non-magical beings, and non-magic users from slipping   
into unconsciousness, like the prior two trips.  
  
They were not taking any chances. Not _This_ time.  
  
Without the drain on their mana, Yuki and Ranma were free to watch   
the world warp and twist into that kaleidoscope world Ranma had   
experienced before. There was a shimmer as the group were placed   
into a translucent silver bubble that had _not_ been present in the   
last warp spell. Obviously, something the redheaded witch had   
changed.   
  
It mattered little.  
  
Yuki pressed her hand against her sister's belly, searching for the   
for the mana signature that was her unborn niece or nephew. At   
Ranma's questioning look, Yuki bullshited some answer that they   
could use the left over energy from the last time Ranma had   
'played' with Jei as a tracer to their missing friends.  
  
No need for the others to realize she was scanning the unborn   
child's signature for the half that was _not_ Ranma's. With age,   
the signature would change and alter to its' own pattern, but for   
now it was a 50-50 mixture of it's parents. Not even gender had   
been decided.  
  
Although, it was more likely to be male, Yuki thought as she began   
to form the tracking spell, considering both 'mommy' and daddy are   
male.  
  
The silvery bubble turned navy as the warp spell was altered mid   
flight, and they were yanked off course. Giles and Willow whirled   
on her, stunned, but she merely smiled pleasantly at them.  
  
"What do you _think_," seethed Rosenberg, "you are _doing_?!"  
  
"Following our friends," she returned icily, "of whom _you_   
banished. It's likely to be a _bumpy_ ride."  
  
Her scowl twisted into a sadistic grin as they hit the 'bump'. In   
reality, they were being flung over the violet and gold 'shadows'   
that formed the barriers between worlds.  
  
Schuldich shuddered to think of what his sister had gone through,   
being flung here without a protection spell.  
  
Oh yes, he decided with a grim smile. That witch will definitely   
die. Painfully.  
  
---  
  
Nearly four hours after the original casting of the spell, the   
tracking bubble veered sharply left, and onto one of the faded   
warp-spell paths into the world their friends were lost in. Yuki   
and Giles were inspecting the paths; they had not been used in a   
long, long time. Centuries upon centuries, it appeared, excluding a   
faint tracing that seemed to have happened... nearly seventeen   
years earlier?  
  
What about the others? Why wasn't there a passage only days   
earlier?  
  
But they had no more time to wonder as they appeared in a wasteland   
of red rock. A forest was visible in the distance, likely several   
days walking from where they were.  
  
The navy bubble exploded around them in an array of surprisingly   
brilliant emerald light. Their vampiric companion froze as sunlight   
washed across them-- and he failed to start burning up or turning   
to dust, "What the bloody hell...?"  
  
"You are bound to Kasumi," Yuki gave him a grin, "Since you didn't   
have a 'soul' to bind to her, I bound your existence. As long as   
Kasumi lives-- alive or undead-- you will as well. As long as she   
is physically alive, you get to play Daywalker."  
  
"Why'd you bind _him_?" an annoyed Slayer snapped, "The chipped   
wonder would do everyone else a favour by dying."  
  
"Did you know," the Sorceress mused as her fellow assassins and Oz   
began to limber up at Schuldich's mental command, "that the moment   
you escaped the boundaries of our reality, another Slayer was   
called?"  
  
"What?" she paused, then smiled, "Another Slayer? Oh, good!   
Things'll be a lot easier now that--"  
  
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Slayer," Ranma's eyes glowed with   
power, "You're not escaping this realm alive."  
  
---  
  
Kasumi had been warned by Schuldich that they were about to start   
fighting. With that in mind, the brunette went off in the direction   
of the forest.   
  
Not wanting his own existence wiped out should she die, Spike   
trailed after her. He felt both happy, and anxious about being   
bound to the girl. Happy that he could walk in daylight as he had   
not in two hundred years or so, but anxious over the fact that his   
'unlife' was laying in her hands.  
  
If she died, _he_ died.  
  
So it was his goal to protect her and keep himself alive. So far,   
he had fought four beasties of a type he had never seen before, in   
order to protect her. It was tiring work, but worth it just to see   
everything in the stark light of day.  
  
Things, _people_, look so _different_ during daylight, he mused,   
watching his charge climb over large rocks to get a better view of   
the wasteland about them.  
  
Heh, take that, Angelus!! Spike was walking in the day!!   
  
"Oh my!"  
  
Spike blinked, jogging up to her side and following her gaze. He   
gave a low whistle as they stared at what was apparently the   
remains of a city along the shore, several miles past the edge of   
the forest, "Now _there's_ a destroyed place."  
  
"Come on," Kasumi turned back the way they had come, already   
dreading the ten minute walk back. Her feet hurt from scrabbling   
over rocks in her soft soled shoes, "We should tell Ranma-chan and   
his friends."  
  
The undead fell into step with her, having shifted to 'game face'   
to scare off the smarter beasties, "Why do you lot keep calling   
Ranma 'he'?"  
  
"Jhusenkyou curse," she smiled at him, "he turns into a girl with   
cold water, and back into a boy with hot water," here she tapped   
her chin, "although Nabiki-chan said he could control the change   
now. Something to do with opposite magics."  
  
He nodded slowly, assimilating the knowledge for future references.   
Like asking Saotome why he had not changed back yet.  
  
They trudged into silence until the sweet scent of blood reached   
the vampire's nose. With a low growl, he picked up a startled   
Kasumi, racing across the ground at his best speed. He came to an   
abrupt halt at the site of the bloodshed, golden eyes opened wide.  
  
Willow had been, apparently, ripped into shreds-- Yuki was standing   
over her mutilated corpse, laughing gleefully. Her lover had met a   
more kinder end at Oz's hand, the werewolf taking a page from Ranma   
and letting his feral side come forth to do the deed, and ripping   
her throat out.  
  
Giles was just dead. There were no marks on him, excluding the ones   
resulting from Schuldich kicking the body following death. Anya was   
currently sliding off Ken's bugnuks as he stared impassively at   
her.  
  
Spike felt something within him shatter it's bonds, and surge   
forwards. His eyes locked on Ranma as she physically beat the shit   
out of Buffy Summers, Slayer.  
  
What he had felt come forwards was his own vampiric heritage. The   
Slayer was his blood-bound enemy. To fight alongside her, he had   
jammed his vampiric-instincts deep within himself-- the chip had   
helped him to do that.  
  
But the vampire's 'demon' self had surged forwards when he smelt   
spilled Slayer blood. He lunged, knocking the partial Hell God away   
from Buffy. Cursing Ranma bounded to her feet, willing and able to   
rip the vampire apart if he was trying to protect the downed   
Slayer.  
  
Thankfully, for the vampire's continued existence, he had   
surrendered to his inner demon.  
  
Completely suppressing his nature had been a bad idea-- it had   
leapt up at the first chance, with a vengeance. Spike's conscious   
mind was shoved into the pits where his nature had been locked.  
  
This mindless version of William the Bloody ignored the pain raking   
through his mind as he sank his fangs into the Slayer's neck.   
However, one can consciously ignore pain, but one's body likes to   
survive.  
  
Half-way through draining his once 'teammate', his body shut itself   
down, in order to prevent lasting brain damage. Buffy herself was   
unconscious, from blood loss, and head trauma. Ranma had not been a   
pleasant person to her-- especially following the stupid mistake of   
insulting Jei.  
  
Not that Summers had specifically spoke Farfello's given name-- she   
merely sneered that no one could _possibly_ care for a twisted,   
back stabbing bitch like her. And, that if someone did, they were   
likely a comatose mentally deficient person.  
  
Kitty had gone ballistic, and tore into the Slayer screaming   
obscenities. _No_ _One_ insulted her master!  
  
Kasumi came up to them, looking at the bodies with a shudder of   
revulsion. Another shiver ran down her back as she realized that   
the only one not marked with blood was Schuldich.  
  
Licking dry lips, she turned to ask Ranma a question, and let out a   
shriek when she witnessed Ranma sinking her fist into the Slayer's   
chest. Startled, the redhead looked up and cursed, not having   
realized that Spike's return meant Kasumi's return.  
  
Of one mind, Yuki and Ranma lashed out-- Ranma used the Spirit   
Obliteration technique to utterly destroy Buffy's corpse, and Yuki   
turned the bodies into ash. Kasumi sunk to her knees and became   
violently ill.  
  
---  
  
End Chapter  
  
---  
Chapter Ten : Truth  
  
  
  
Explaining to the eldest Tendou daughter that they were assassins   
had not been fun, but it was all they could do while they waited   
for Spike to awaken from his chip-induced sleep. She was still   
feeling ill, although not nearly so much since Yuki had frivolously   
used her magic in order to clean the blood from the assassins'   
clothes and skin.  
  
Explaining further that Oz was a werewolf wasn't nearly as   
troublesome-- she could accept the supernatural very easily, from   
living with the younger Saotome for two years.  
  
Finally, Spike came to, and promptly attacked Yuki and the others.   
He was halted when Kasumi stepped into his path, and he recalled   
quite vividly what should happen to him if she died. He was, by   
far, not a happy vampire as he sulked along behind the group.  
  
Kasumi was in the lead, talking happily to Oz, while guiding them   
towards the ruins Spike and she had seen from afar. It was going to   
be a _long_ day.  
  
---  
  
It was actually a long five days, as the ruins had been further   
away than expected. They were also _huge_, Yuki reflected as they   
padded into the small bit of ruins that had not been either   
destroyed or swallowed by water.   
  
"Wonder what happened here," mused Ken, who was _still_ not talking   
to Schuldich. 'Still', because when he realized Schuldich had   
pulled the same mental trick of locking up emotions and guilt he   
had used on Rache, on him, he had thrown a fit. Following _that_   
he proclaimed that he was "never talking to the psychopathic   
telepath ever again". The German was trying to get back into the   
Amerikajin's good graces. Like Ken had needed Schuldich to do that   
when he killed his friends. He had done it before... Kase...  
  
"_I_ wonder why we haven't met anyone since we arrived," Oz   
muttered, eying the store structure around them.  
  
"We're likely at the site of a war," Spike supplied, having gotten   
over the deaths of his teammates already-- he _was_ a vampire,   
after all, "One that probably happened within the current or   
previous generation's memory. You humans are a bunch of bloody   
pillocks, not being able to 'stand' the memories."  
  
"For a vampire, you're pretty 'human-wise'," muttered Siberian, who   
had hopped up on an old marble pillar that had toppled over. He   
shaded his eyes and looked around them with a frown, "No people,   
just more of those annoying monsters."   
  
"Maybe the monsters drove them away," Kasumi put her own two cents   
in, "Yuki-san, could you locate Nabiki-chan from here?"  
  
"I... could," Yuki found it hard to lie to Kasumi. The fact was,   
she _really_ didn't want to locate anyone until _after_ her niece   
or nephew was born. Ranma had a habit of getting into dangerous   
situations, and the fetus might get accidentally killed.  
  
Yuki was _very_ protective of her family-- even the unborn   
relatives.  
  
"Well?" Ranma bounced to her sister's side, "C'mon, find Jei-sama   
and Ayan!"  
  
The Sorceress hesitated.  
  
/Might as well just tell him./  
  
/You're not going to be the one he bitches at!/  
  
/Be brave, Yuki-onna. Take a silver bullet for the team!/  
  
/...Schuldich... that's a beer commercial.../  
  
/Well,/ he shot her a wry grin, / I _was_ going through the   
vampie's mind a few minutes ago./  
  
"Yuki?! Are you even _listening_ to me?!" ranted Kitty, blue eyes   
glaring evilly into brown.  
  
"No," she answered with all honesty, "I was talking with Guilt-  
boy."  
  
Ranma groaned, "C'mon, sis, what's the hold up?"  
  
"I want a promise from you," and she poked her brother-turned-  
sister in the forehead, "and then I'll cast a locator spell."  
  
"Promise?" was the confused response, "what promise?"  
  
She sighed, then in true Yuki fashion, decided to hell with the   
consequences, and stated bluntly, "I want you to promise not to go   
into dangerous situations until _after_ you give birth to Ranma-  
junior."  
  
"Oh well, I su--birth?!" she yelped, "What do you _mean_ 'give   
birth'?! YUKI!!"  
  
The elder of the two Saotomes shrugged, "_That_ is why you're stuck   
in female form. I suppose Orfiel is protecting the fetus, and   
keeping you from changing back into your normal form."  
  
"But... but... but I _can't_ be pregnant!" she wailed, "I'm a   
_guy_!"  
  
"What is she going on about?" Spike muttered to Ken and Kasumi."  
  
"Ranma's male," Ken spoke over Ranma and Yuki's raised voices as   
the pair argued whether or not it was possible for the martial   
artist to be pregnant, "he can shift between a male and female   
form."  
  
"Kasumi told me that part," Spike returned, "I meant, why does she   
think she can't get pregnant?"  
  
"Probably didn't think it was possible," Ken shrugged, "Maybe he   
_couldn't_ until after Moon blasted him with the Ginzoushou."  
  
"Moon? Ginzoushou?"  
  
"Yeah, you see..." and Ken began to weave the tale of the events of   
the past couple months to Kasumi and Spike, sparing no details as   
to what had happened to the superheroine group known as the Sailor   
Senshi.  
  
Ranma was still ranting to her sister, "No! It's impossible!"  
  
"It's damned well possible!" she returned, annoyed, "You had sex in   
female form, and now, you are pregnant!"  
  
"I've had sex as a girl before!" she snipped.  
  
Yuki rolled her eyes, "You probably weren't in the right part of   
your cycle when you and Farf went at it. This time, you were. Face   
it brother-dear: You. Are. Pregnant!"  
  
Ranma was about to launch into another denial when Oz interrupted,   
"Relax, Xue Shi. Maybe you're pregnant, maybe you're not. But it's   
Farfello's pup if you are, right?"  
  
"...yeah..."  
  
"Then the pup is part Farfello," the werewolf grinned, "So you've   
got a good reason to care for it, right?"  
  
"I guess so..." she sighed, struggling to accept the fact that she   
was pregnant. She still doubted, but promised to keep out of   
trouble anyway. It would only be a few weeks until she would be   
able to sense the child's ki. She was damned sure she wouldn't be   
able to-- therefore proving that she was _not_ pregnant.  
  
Hmph, her sister was merely delusional. Like always.  
  
Said sister dipped into the well of power that was hers as a   
Sorceress, and spread her influence. Inch by inch, she spread the   
locator spell outwards, searching for the signature she had used to   
pull them into this realm in the first place.   
  
She ran across another, familiar, signature first, "Nabiki."  
  
They looked to her when she spoke, but she was frowning, "But it's   
too old. Almost a decade and a half."  
  
"Bradlies, maybe," mused Kitty, "he _does_ have Pluto's staff and   
control over time..."  
  
"Maybe," Yuki shrugged, "I'll try for a more recent signature." she   
did not mention that Yohji, Rache, Omi and Nagi's signatures were   
also there, all more recent, but still over a decade old.  
  
She continued to stretch out further, a bit surprised to find a   
signature similar to Nagi's in a heavily shielded area. Curious...   
still, that wasn't what she was looking for, and continued onwards.  
  
With some amount of surprise, she located Farfello's signature. It   
was... not warped, altered maybe. Similar too.. her eyes flew wide,   
unconsciously looking at her brother. What a pair...  
  
/What's that, Yuki?/  
  
/Farfie's apparently _female_ now./  
  
He blinked, paused, then laughed, /What a pair indeed./  
  
/Hmm...maybe little bro might get his chance to be on top./  
  
Holding onto Farfello's current place in her mind, she didn't have   
to go much further to find Crawford and... Omi? How odd.  
  
Further investigation revealed that the majority of their friends--   
minus Nabiki, Yohji, Rache, Xian Phu, Kunzite and his fellow   
'kings'-- were all in the same general area. What was most   
confusing was why Omi was separated from his girlfriend.  
  
Why would the Knight leave the Sorceress?  
  
Yuki's own Knight had been killed by the coven she had once been a   
part of-- which was partially responsible for her unstable state.   
Omi would _never_ willingly leave Nabiki; so where was the   
Sorceress?  
  
"Well," she withdrew power from the spell, "I know where _most_ of   
them are. Problem is, they're on the other side of the planet."  
  
"You're kidding," Ken moaned, "Please tell me you're kidding."  
  
"No joke Hidaka," she scowled, this is going to be _so_ much fun,   
trying to get over there, "C'mon, we can stay in these ruins for   
the night, and I'll gate us to the first place I sensed them."  
  
"Why not 'gate' right to them?" Kasumi wondered, wanting to see   
Nabiki. The two were quite close, having been the only ones to keep   
the Tendou Dojo up and running at nearly peak conditions, despite a   
lack of students. She dearly missed her lost sister.  
  
Yuki sighed, "The spell used to take us here, plus the protection   
spell, plus all the magic I've been doing lately has nearly   
completely sucked me dry. I won't have enough power to warp across   
a planet for a few weeks yet. Also, I need to get use to this   
world before I warp."  
  
"Looks like we're going the old fashioned way," Ranma grinned   
widely, "Swimming!"  
  
"'Swimming'?" quoth all but Yuki.  
  
"We'll swim to the other side of the planet!" she pointed to the   
shoreline they were on, "It'll be fun!"  
  
"Ranma," Schuldich moaned, "_You_ might be able to swim across an   
ocean, but _we_ can't!"  
  
"Speak for yourself," Yuki grinned settling in for the night,   
against the large marble pillar Ken had been standing on. The sun   
was only beginning to set, but she wanted a good night's sleep.  
  
The others apparently thought the same, as they found their own   
little niches, and curled up for the night.  
  
---  
  
End Chapter  
  
---  
Epilogue : Beginnings  
  
  
  
"I will kill him, I will kill him, I will fucking _kill_ him!"  
  
"Wow, she's vocal," mused a man sitting in one of the chairs in the   
hospital waiting room.  
  
"Actually, she's being quieter than normal," Ken grinned, dropping   
himself into a neighboring chair. The blue garbed man hiked an   
eyebrow.  
  
"Your wife?"  
  
"Nah, just a friend," he sighed, "Kitty and Jei are rarely   
separated-- but Jei's in some all-important meeting in Balamb. He   
can't get away to be here."  
  
"A meeting in _Balamb_?" questioned the man, "There's nothing   
there!"  
  
"Exactly," the man started when Kasumi seemingly appeared from   
nowhere, "Neither group has the 'home-court' advantage."  
  
"Good point," he winced as Ranma's shrieks became more descriptive   
on _how_ she would kill Farfello, "Wow, she's got quite the   
imagination."  
  
"Her older sister is a confirmed psychopath," Ken gave a wane   
smile, "Kitty probably picked it up when she visited her."  
  
"Oh, Ken," Kasumi turned to the now twenty year old-- his birthday   
having past some months ago, "Oz wants to know how long this is   
going to take."  
  
"No idea..."  
  
The man in blue laughed, "A few hours at least. Is Oz your son?"  
  
Kasumi giggled, "Oh no, no, no. He's my boyfriend. He's just   
worried about tonight's moon."  
  
"The moon?" he looked utterly confused, but Ken waved it off.  
  
"Don't bother. Oz likes to stare at the full moon, and doesn't want   
to miss it," the young man paused, "You a soldier?"  
  
"Lieutenant James Wilton." he grinned at the assassin, "and you   
are...?"  
  
"Ken Hidaka," speaking English style may have been the way he had   
been raised, but he had trained himself to 'think Japanese'. His   
name sounded funny whenever he introduced himself this way, "And   
she is Kasumi Tendou."  
  
"Nice to meet you."  
  
"You too," James returned.  
  
Ken crossed his arms, and lowered his voice, "Is it _true_ the   
President is making negotiations with a Sorceress?"  
  
James sat bolt up, "Where did you--"  
  
But Ken cut him off, "Relax. It's just a rumor, I wanted to know if   
it was true."  
  
"N-no, not at all," stuttered the officer. Thankfully, he was   
called into the room where his sister had just given birth, before   
Ken could leech more information out of him.  
  
"Think it's Nabiki?"  
  
"It _sounds_ like Nabiki," Kasumi turned to face Oz, "She would do   
something like this in an instant."  
  
"I hope Deling knows what he's doing," the werewolf sighed, "How   
long has she been in labor?"  
  
"Eight hours," Ken grumbled, trying to settle in and get some   
sleep, "Wake me up when the kid is out, okay?"  
  
To him, it wasn't long before he was pulled from his slumber to be   
told Ranma's daughter had been born. A glance at the clock revealed   
he had been asleep for nearly ten hours.  
  
He yawned and allowed Schuldich to guide him to Ranma's room. The   
new mother was laying in her bed, her daughter cuddled to her   
breast.  
  
"Her name is Jun," Yuki supplied the sleepy Ghostie, "We can't stay   
long; they need some sleep."  
  
"Right," the trio entered as Kasumi, Spike and Oz left. Ken's eyes   
were wide as he stared down at the little girl.  
  
"Hey guys," yawned Saotome.  
  
"Hey Ranma."  
  
The redhead smirked sleepily as the others peered down at the   
child.  
  
"It's been nine months. Can we go find them _now_?"  
  
---  
End Epilogue  
  
And yes, there is a reason behind the whole Ranma-has-a-daughter   
thing. Aside from revealing the _obvious_ fact that Ranma sleeps   
with Farfie-kun, Jun-chan has a part to play in future books.   
  
If anyone can guess what series Jun is from you get... you get...   
er... a... er... honorable mention in my fic?? . Okay, yeah,   
that's a pathetic prize... 


End file.
